If you’ve been reading my blog from the very beginning, then you’ve heard a lot about Nadia Frigeri, a local chef who I’ve taken several cooking classes from at Voila! in Del Mar. I’ve learned so much from her. The best thing about her is that she’s definitely not “phoning it in.” Nadia obviously creates new recipes for each class and offers her whole self and all of her wisdom to her students.

The latest class I took specialized in mushrooms. Can you say YUM? Slowly but surely, I’d like to share the recipes with you. I got a little excited and distracted during class and I forgot to take photos of most dishes, but trust me… they were beautiful and delicious and amazing.

Bon Appetit!

Puff Pastry Turnovers Stuffed with Mushrooms and Cheese
(”Turnovers” di pasta sfoglia e funghi)
Courtesy of Nadia Frigeri
Serves 8

Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry
2 T extra virgin olive oil
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stem discarded and caps diced
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 T chopped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
3 oz. grated Emmenthaler (Swiss) cheese or Gruyere

1. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, combine the oil, mushrooms, salt, pepper, parsley, and garlic and cook 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Add grated cheese and taste to adjust seasoning.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out the puff pastry sheets to 1/3-inch thickness and cut into 3 or 4 inch rounds. Place 1-2 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture in the center and fold over to close. Press edges with fork to seal.

3. Line a jelly-roll cookie sheet with parchment paper and arrange turnovers about 1-inch apart. Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. Remove from oven, set aside to cool lightly and serve.

Notes from class:

• You can prepare these turnovers ahead of time and store them in the fridge or freezer until it’s time to cook them.
• There are two sizes of shiitake mushrooms and the bigger ones (about 4 inches in diameter) work best, in Nadia’s opinion.
• Puff pastry works best when it’s defrosted in the fridge. Do not use at room temperature. But if it’s too cold, that’s also not good.
• You can roll out the puff pastry with fresh herbs or cracked pepper pressed in to the dough.
• If you want, you can brush the turnovers with eggs if you’d like to make them a nice golden color.