PASTRY’S ALTER-EGO

Savory baked goods for the not-so-sweet-toothed

By Sue Muncaster // Photography by Paulette Phlipot

My favorite childhood memories involve tying on an apron, crawling up on a stool, helping my grandmother sprinkle flour on the kitchen counter, and watching her whip up a pie. As I got older, she trusted me to roll out the dough. Every time I use her old rolling pin, I remember her soft touch and the smell of her warm kitchen.

In busy modern times, making handmade pastries has become a lost art, but like most things that take time, it’s well worth the effort. From well-known savory treats, like calzones, quiches, and egg rolls, to exotic ethnic creations, like samosas (Nepal), boreks (Turkey), and Kalitsounia (Greece), virtually every culture has a way of surrounding meat, vegetables, and cheese with a flaky pastry dough.

These hands-on recipes offer a great way to introduce family members to baking (like my grandma did with me). Create an assembly line for the empanadas to make the task less daunting (and a whole lot more fun!). One person can prepare the discs, a second can fill and fold, and even the youngest child can manage a pastry brush for the egg washing, and then prick discs with a fork.

Once you master the basic dough and techniques, you can change it up to suit your tastes using what’s in season. tf

TIP NO. 1:

If you don’t have a food processor, sub a pastry cutter or fork when making the dough.

(If Grandma did it, you can too!)