Spinach and Feta Turnovers on a cutting board with a cup of tea, and plates and forks on a table.

Today I invited my blog friend Katherine from Katherine Martinelli to Just One Cookbook as she just published her first e-cookbook called Puff Pastry at Brunch: 10 Sweet and Savory Recipes to Start Your Morning! I’m really excited because she’s my good blogger friend and this cookbook is about puff pastry! If you have been following my blog, you probably know that I rarely make desserts, and if I do, it’s mostly with puff pastry sheets. Without further ado, please welcome Katherine with delicious Spinach and Feta Turnovers!

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Katherine MartinelliI am so honored to be guest posting Just One Cookbook today! Although Nami and I have never met I feel like we are friends. Even though emails and blog posts, I can tell that she is a warm, kind soul who always tries to make time for everyone. I always enjoy emailing with Nami about blogging and food, and I want to try every single gorgeous dish that she makes. I feel so lucky to have Nami as a blog friend.

Today I am thrilled to share some very exciting news: I just published my first cookbook! It’s called Puff Pastry at Brunch: 10 Sweet and Savory Recipes to Start Your Morning and it is an e-cookbook. It was published by Hang Time Press, a lovely new media publishing house, and is available on Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook for just $2.99. I hope you’ll check it out!

Puff Pastry at Brunch by Katherine Martinelli

All the recipes in the book call for prepared puff pastry, an ingredient that I’ve become obsessed with in recent years. I always have some stashed in my freezer and I can’t begin to tell you how often it has come to the rescue. Here I’ve used it as the base for one of my favorite meals: brunch. Although there are only 10 recipes, each one is really just a jumping-off point for other recipes and I provide lots of ideas for variations.

Spinach and Feta Turnovers II

Living in Israel, I’ve been exposed to so many new cuisines. Bourekas, a kind of savory turnover, have become a staple of my diet and are the inspiration for this recipe. They are common throughout the Middle East, Mediterranean, and North Africa and come with all kinds of fillings, from potato to “pizza.” Spinach and feta is one of my favorite flavor combinations, and it works perfectly here. These are great for brunch but work just as well as a breakfast on the run. I like to freeze some to reheat them for an easy snack.

Spinach and Feta Turnovers III

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Spinach and Feta Turnovers on a table with plates, forks, and a cup of tea.

Spinach and Feta Turnovers

5 from 7 votes
Spinach and feta is a perfect flavor combinations here and works well. These are great for brunch, but work just as well as a breakfast on the run or easy snack! 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 Turnovers

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup onion (finely chopped)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 7 oz spinach leaves
  • Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for taste)
  • freshly ground black pepper (for taste)
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell) (separated)
  • 3 oz feta cheese (crumbled)
  • 12 oz frozen puff pastry (defrosted)
  • Za’atar (optional; this is a Middle Eastern and North African spice blend most commonly made up of some combination of dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, sumac, and sesame seeds. It is available at specialty food shops in the US and can be ordered from online spice shops such as The Spice House and Penzeys Spices.)
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Instructions
 

  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until just softened (be careful not to burn the garlic). Add the spinach and cook, stirring often, until fully wilted, about 3 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat. Season lightly with salt and pepper and vigorously stir in the lemon juice and egg yolk (reserve the egg white for later). Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow to cool.
  • Once the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as possible and roughly chop. (I realize that it seems counter-intuitive to put liquid in then squeeze it out, but after countless test runs this process led to the best results.) Return spinach to the bowl and thoroughly mix in the feta.
  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (200ºC). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle about ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and 12" x 18" (30 x 46 cm). Cut into 6 even 5"-6" (13-15 cm) squares. Put a spoonful of the spinach-feta mixture into the center of each puff pastry square. Fold the puff pastry over to form a triangle. Press down with a fork along the edges to tightly seal.
  • Transfer the turnovers to the prepared baking sheet. Brush with the reserved egg white and sprinkle with za’atar, if using. Put in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
    Spinach and Feta Turnovers 2
  • Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before serving. Spinach-feta turnovers are excellent warm or at room temperature.

To Store

  • The turnovers can be made ahead and frozen. To freeze, lay flat on a baking tray and put in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags. To re-heat, simply bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until warmed through.

Notes

The recipe was provided by Katherine from Katherine Martinelli.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 380 kcal · Carbohydrates: 29 g · Protein: 8 g · Fat: 26 g · Saturated Fat: 8 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 14 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 44 mg · Sodium: 338 mg · Potassium: 256 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 1 g · Vitamin A: 3207 IU · Vitamin C: 11 mg · Calcium: 117 mg · Iron: 3 mg
Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cheese, puff pastry, spinach
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5 from 7 votes (5 ratings without comment)
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ooh spinach and feta. my favourite. That sounds really good!

Congratulations on your book and thanks for sharing your recipe. I’m a bit puff pastry challenged, however your recipe is enough to get me out of the gate. Thank you Nami for inviting Katherine.

Love the spinach and feta combo! I have had some questions related to puff pastry and I didn’t know who to ask.. Thank you for introducing us to Katherine, I hope I can get my answers from her 🙂

Thanks Zee!! I am happy to try to answer any of your puff pastry questions 🙂 Feel free to shoot me an email at katherine@katherinemartinelli.com!

Beautifully done! I think you’re someone I’d love to have lunch with. =) Gorgeous setting for a gorgeous meal.

Great guest post! I like such easy and delicious things! 🙂

Wonderful, I didn’t know about Katherine’s e-book. Congrats! This turnover looks wonderful. I agree, living in the Middle East, I’ve seen turn overs filled with all kinds of things. Great guest post, Nami!

Nami-san, thanks for hosting Katherine. I am on my way over to check out her e-book. Take Care, BAM

Its a pleasure to see Katherine at your amazing blog, Nami. The spinach feta combo is sensational. I have never tried my hands on a puff pastry and what better way to begin with! And for me, Za’atar is definitely not optional 😉
Congrats on your first cook book Katherine 🙂

Being a Greek I grew up loving spanakopita in any shape and form! I am sure I would love these triangles too!

Congratulations on the new cookbook. I think the availablility of puff pastry allows all of us to take your recipes and look like experts. 🙂

(*waves to Nami*)

These turnovers look perfectly delicious! I could eat too many I promise you right now 😀
Some sauce is all I need 😀
What a fabulous guest post!

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Oh, these look so good I could eat that whole basket of them! The combination of spinach and feta is one of my absolute favorites and I much prefer pastry dough to the Greek version of this in phyllo. Great guest post!

Spinach and Feta…sign me up for life. I wish they were my neighbours with one on each side 🙂 Great post as usual from Katherine, I love her site.
Thanks Nami..

yay! Katherine is one of my newly found favourite food Bloggers. She is truely an inspiration and I am so excited for her and her new cookbook! Thanks Nami for letting her guestpost here!

Katherine your Turnover look devine and so perfect! Its lunch time here right now and I d finnish them all!

Now I have to check out where I can get Za’atar! Learned a bunch of new things here. Thank you! =)

Nami, thank you so much for having me on your gorgeous blog! I am so honored and excited to be here. You are absolutely the best and I am feel so fortunate to have you as a friend!

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