Mushroom and Spinach Turnovers

I'm finding that I'm really enjoying mushrooms lately, which is odd for me since I spent most of my life disliking them unless they were on pizza. This bodes well for my venture into twice-weekly vegetarianism, since mushrooms are meaty and hearty and filling and are part of so many meatless entrees. My almost two-year-old, however? He is not a fan. He picked the mushrooms out of his turnover and only ate the pastry and the spinach. Not that I'm complaining -- my toddler is eating spinach. That in itself makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

I found this recipe in a recent issue of Rachael Ray's magazine, and I knew immediately that I wanted to put it on our menu. Mushrooms mixed with cream cheese and stuffed into puff pastry? I am IN. I changed the recipe up a bit to reflect what I had on hand, and I put the spinach in the pastry instead of serving it as a salad on the side as Rachael suggests, and I have to say we all really enjoyed these. They were really filling as an entree, but could easily be made into small pockets and served as a yummy appetizer. I definitely recommend giving these a try!

Mushroom and Spinach Turnovers
source: adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray, February 2010

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound white mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 cups baby spinach
Salt and pepper
Grated peel and juice of 1/2 lemon
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into small pieces
1 (17.3-ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. In a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onion, season with salt and pepper and cook until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Stir in spinach until wilted. Transfer to a bowl along with the lemon peel; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the cream cheese and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.

2. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 puff pastry sheet to an 11-inch square, then halve it. Repeat with the other pastry sheet. Arrange one-quarter of the filling crosswise on 1 half of each piece of pastry, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Brush the borders with some egg, then fold the pastry to enclose the filling. Cut 2 vents into each turnover and crimp the edges; transfer to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with more egg. Bake until puffed and golden-brown, about 18 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes.