Wow!! these are sooooooo good. This is a recipe I have had for years, and have no idea where it came from. I found it just last week on a crumpled, butter stained old recipe card. Thankfully none of the ink was beyond legible and I typed it right up.

They are hot, buttery pastry with an amazing sweet and savory filling full of tender leeks, sweet pears and strong French cheese. These can be served as appetizers, or with a light green salad as a first course.

Pear and Leek Turnovers

-2 Tbs butter
-1 ½ cups leeks, cleaned and chopped
-1 large (ripe but firm) pear, peeled, cored and chopped
-2 tsp sugar
-¾ cup gruyere cheese, grated
-3 Tbs fresh chives, minced
-1 (17.3) package of frozen puff pastry
-1 egg, (beaten for glaze)

1) Unthaw the puff pastry and set on the counter to come to room temperature.

2) In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add the leeks. Cook the leeks until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

3) Add the diced pear, and sauté until the pear starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and stir to combine with the pear and leeks. Season the mixture with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

4) Remove the mixture form the heat, and transfer to a bowl. Let the mixture cool and then mix in the cheese and fresh chives.

5) Preheat the oven to 400 degreees. Prepare baking sheets with silpat liners.

6) Cut 4” rounds from each sheet of puff pastry. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the rounds into 5” rounds. Add two tablespoons of filling to one half of the round.

7) Using a brush or your fingers, brush a small amount of the beaten egg on the edges of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling, and pinch the edges shut with fork tines.

8) Line the turnovers up on the sheet pans, and lightly brush them with the beaten egg. Pierce three small slashes in the top of each turnover.

9) Chill the turnovers on the baking sheets in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes and up to an hour.

10) Bake the turnovers for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Serve hot!