Artichoke & Asiago Turnovers

I am kicking off my #AppyHolidays series on my blog with this recipe for Artichoke & Asiago Turnovers. This festive appetizer is a play on Artichoke and Asiago Dip—and effectively removes the risk of double-dipping!

My inspiration for this recipe came from seeing lots of pre-made Artichoke and Asiago Dips at my local grocery store. While these dips are tasty and convenient, they can be full of lots of additives and preservatives that we don’t need. For this reason, I decided to make my own homemade recipe for this classic dip and just for fun, I decided to put the filling inside of some puff pastry.

Asiago is an Italian cow’s milk cheese that is pungent and flavourful and comes in multiple varieties. Asiago varies tremendously in flavour depending on the length of time it has been aged. For instance, the fresh variety is much less pungent than an asiago that has been aged for 2+ years. I admit that the flavour is strong and it may take some getting used to for some, but a little bit of this cheese goes a long way. My recipe for the filling yields around 2 cups, and only 1/3 of a cup of asiago cheese is used in that!

This impressive recipe for Artichoke & Asiago Turnovers comes together in just a few minutes and uses many readily available ingredients. A jar of artichoke hearts, asiago cheese, cream cheese and mayonnaise form the foundation of this recipe. You could make this appetizer with just these 4 ingredients (plus puff pastry) if you wanted to. However, the addition of lemon juice, parsley and cayenne pepper really help to bring these ingredients to life.

To make the turnovers, simply mix the all the ingredients in a bowl (minus the puff pastry) to create the filling.  Then, I place a heaping tablespoon of filling onto squares of puff pastry, fold the pastry over, and crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. I also brush an egg wash over the tops of the pastries before baking so that they become nice and golden brown.

Once these babies are baked, simply arrange them on a platter and serve them warm to all of your guests. I guarantee that these will be a hit at any holiday party this season!

If you are interested in more holiday appetizer recipes, make sure to follow my #AppyHolidays series this month on the blog. I will be posting a delicious appetizer recipe every Tuesday of the month!

Let me know in the comments below what some of your favourite holiday appetizers are!

For the full recipe for Artichoke & Asiago Turnovers, click here!