Best 5 Vegetable Pastry Purses Recipes

VEGETARIAN PHYLLO PURSES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• On a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil for easy cleanup, toss eggplant, zucchini, garlic, and onion with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for about 30 to 40 minutes until tender, being sure to monitor so they don't burn. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
• While the vegetables are in the oven, make the chutney. Heat the grapeseed oil over medium-high heat in a small saucepan until it begins to shimmer. Add the shallot and saute until it begins to turn translucent, being careful not to burn it. Add the orange juice, balsamic vinegar, mango, and parsley, and allow the liquid to reduce by 2/3. Season with salt and pepper, stir in slurry to thicken and let cook for about 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
• Add the garbanzo beans, garlic, crushed red pepper, lemon juice, tahini, and olive oil to a food processor. Pulse to combine and coarsely chop.
• Heat grapeseed oil over medium heat in a skillet and sear the tofu cubes. Set aside until needed.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• If phyllo was defrosted, make sure it is completely defrosted before handling it. Once removed from package, you will need to cover phyllo with waxed paper and a damp towel to prevent it from drying out. Working with 1 sheet at a time, lay out a dough sheet on a baking sheet and brush on butter, and lay another sheet on top and brush with butter. Fold in half, brush on butter again and fold in half again so you have a thickness of 8 layers. Spread 1 tablespoon hummus on phyllo and top with 1/4 cup of the roasted vegetable mixture and 1 tablespoon diced tofu. Fold in corners of phyllo dough to the center and brush with egg wash. Repeat to make 4 phyllo purses. Place on a baking sheet and bake in oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and serve hot with mango chutney on the side.

BANANA PURSE

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
• Line a heavy large cookie sheet with foil. Spray foil with nonstick spray. In a medium bowl combine bananas and syrup. Mash bananas slightly with a fork. On a clean surface, lay flat 1 sheet of puff pastry. Cut pastry in 1/2 lengthwise. Using a rolling pin, roll out each pastry sheet into a 15 by 5-inch rectangle. Cut each rectangle crosswise into thirds, forming 6 squares total. Evenly distribute 1/2 of the banana mixture onto center of each square. Fold corners of pastry into center and pinch ends together, twisting to seal. Repeat with remaining sheet of puff pastry and banana mixture. Arrange pastries on prepared cookie sheet. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush pastries with milk. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over pastries. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

WILD MUSHROOM AND LEEK BEGGAR'S PURSES

Steps:

• Split leeks in half lengthwise, leaving root attached. Remove some of the inner layers to use for tying purses; blanch them for 30 seconds in boiling water, refresh in cool water, drain, and set aside.
• Remove green tops and thinly slice leeks. Saute in 1 tablespoon of the oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Do not brown. Remove from pan to a large bowl.
• Add another tablespoon of oil to pan, turn heat to medium high, and add enough mushrooms to cover bottom of pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until just softened, about 3 minutes. Remove from pan and add to leeks. Repeat until all mushrooms are cooked. If using a variety of mushrooms, cook each type separately.
• Return mushrooms and leeks to pan. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and Madeira or stock, and cook over high heat, stirring, until liquid is reduced to a syrupy consistency. Set aside to cool.
• Unwrap phyllo pastry and unroll flat. Cover completely with damp dish towel to prevent drying out. Lay out a sheet of phyllo and brush it sparingly with melted butter. Repeat until you have three layers. Cut into 4 rectangles. Place 1/3 cup filling in the center of each and gather into a cinched-purse shape. Repeat with remaining filling. (Wrap and refreeze remaining phyllo dough.) Chill purses until firm.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place purses on a baking sheet and bake until evenly golden brown, about 15 minutes. Tie each purse with a leek ribbon and serve hot.

PHYLLO PURSES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil until hot but not smoking. Add shallots, and cook over medium heat until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until they are soft and all the liquid is absorbed, about 7 minutes. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool. When cool, fold in the creme fraiche and chervil until combined. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay one sheet of phyllo on a clean work surface. Brush phyllo lightly with melted butter, and top immediately with a second sheet of phyllo. Brush again with butter, and top with a third sheet of phyllo. Repeat with remaining 3 sheets of phyllo. Using a pizza cutter, cut the stack of layered phyllo sheets into 24 four-inch squares.
• Place a teaspoon of mushroom filling in the center of each square. Carefully draw up the sides of the squares and pinch them together to seal in the filling. Place purses on the parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake until the edges are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Tie a chive around each pinched phyllo purse, and top with 1/4 teaspoon caviar. Serve phyllo purses warm.

BEGGARS' PURSES

Steps:

• Make crêpe batter:
• Melt butter in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat and set aside 2 tablespoons for cooking crêpes. Continue to cook butter remaining in skillet until it has a nutty fragrance and is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Blend brown butter with remaining crêpeingredients, except chives, in a blender until smooth. Add chives and pulse 1 or 2 times to just combine. Let batter stand 30 minutes.
• Blend brown butter with remaining crêpe ingredients, except chives, in a blender until smooth. Add chives and pulse 1 or 2 times to just combine. Let batter stand 30 minutes.
• Blanch whole chives:
• Blanch chives in a small saucepan of boiling water 10 seconds. Drain and plunge into an ice bath. Pat dry.
• Make crêpes:
• Lightly brush skillet with butter, then heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Stir batter. With skillet off heat, add a scant 1/4 cup batter, tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. (If batter sets too fast, reduce heat slightly.) Cook until golden around edges, 15 to 30 seconds. Loosen with a heatproof plastic spatula, then flip crêpe over with your fingertips. Cook until underside is set, about 30 seconds. Slide onto a plate. Make more crêpes, brushing skillet with butter and stacking crêpes on plate.
• Assemble purses:
• Top each crêpe, browned side up, with about 1 1/2 tablespoons sour cream and 2 teaspoon caviar. Gather crêpe around filling and tie 1 or 2 blanched chives in a knot to close purse. Trim ends of chives if necessary.