Heirloom Tomato and Arugula Pesto Turnovers
This is the first year where I’ve taken a deep interest in heirloom tomatoes. And that’s because in years past I’ve been skeptical about eating them. You see my digestion of tomatoes have not been the best in the past few years. For example every time I would eat a tomato or something tomato based, I would break out in a rash and my stomach would get upset. So I made sure to stay away from them. But a few weeks ago at the farmers market I saw some beautifully colored cherry and grape tomatoes that were just calling my name. I bought them, ate them and guess what? There was no rash, no digestive irritations and I felt amazing. The tomatoes I ate were heirloom tomatoes.
What Are Heirloom Tomatoes?
Heirloom Tomatoes are real tomatoes. And what do I mean by that? I mean heirloom tomatoes are not hybrid. They have not gone through genetic modification and have not been bred for shipping and long shelf life like the average tomato in the market. Heirloom tomatoes come from seeds that are 50 years old and over. They have been passed down for generations. Because they don’t go through the mutation process, heirloom tomatoes have more flavor, more nutrients and they’re sweeter. Heirloom tomatoes are also open pollinating, however they do cross pollinate at times but it’s not by human intervention, it’s done naturally.
Cherokee Purple Tomato
There are over 600 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. There’s no way I could talk about all of them! However the variety I will talk about is the one I used for this turnover recipe and that is the Cherokee Purple tomato. This tomato was named by a retired chemist from Raleigh, North Carolina named Craig LeHoullier. The story goes that in 1990, a person knowing that Mr. LeHoullier was an avid gardener with a special passion for tomatoes, sent him a packet of tomato seeds. With the packet was a note from the sender saying that the seeds were given to him by a woman who received them from neighbors. The seeds had been in the neighbor’s family for 100 years with the origination of the seeds coming from the Cherokee Native American Tribe.
The Benefits of Heirloom Tomatoes
- Heirloom tomatoes have loads of vitamin C. A medium heirloom tomato contains 40% of the daily requirement of vitamin C.
- Heirloom tomatoes have great amounts of potassium. Potassium helps with the cardiovascular system.
- These tomatoes also have a higher level of lycopene which helps in the prevention of various cancers like bladder, cervical, breast, lung and pancreatic cancers.
Final Thoughts
I’m so glad I took a chance with eating heirloom tomatoes. I get no allergic reactions at all from the heirlooms I eat. I believe it’s because of these things below:
- They are not genetically mutated like most regular tomatoes in markets.
- I bought the tomatoes from a farmer not using any pesticides.
- The tomatoes were farmed locally and not packaged and shipped from far away.
- I ate them during their season. Seasonal eating means only eating produce when it’s in season in the area you live in.
Heirloom tomatoes are nothing like the regular tomatoes that are mass produced for the markets. They’re so favorable! If you’ve never had an heirloom tomato, I implore you to go to your local farmers market, find a farmer, preferably one who doesn’t use pesticides and try a tomato. You’ll quickly know what a real tomato is suppose to taste like. 🙂
I’m sure going to miss heirlooms when the season comes to an end. But by next year I’ll be ready with some canning gear! And when the heirloom tomato season comes back I’ll make sure to jar as much as I can for the months when they’re not around.
The Recipe
These turnovers are definitely celebrating the heirloom tomato. I wanted the Purple Cherokee to be center stage so I went with an arugula pesto to accompany the tomato instead of a basil pesto. Arugula’s peppery taste compliments the sweet taste of the Purple Cherokee so nicely without overwhelming it. Because basil is quite pungent I think it would have taken some of the shine away from the Cherokee. The turnover dough is none other than my einkorn thin flatbread dough. I’ve been loving this dough and it’s my go to for flatbread to tortillas and now turnovers. I will be using this dough again for a sweet turnover recipe coming soon!
I fried all the turnovers but saved one to bake. Both methods came out very well. So if you’re concerned about frying, the baked option will still give you great results. I also tried freezing the turnovers and they freeze very well. So you can make a batch and store them in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat one, pop it in the toaster oven for about 10-15 minutes and you have a healthy hot pocket!
AuthorDesireeCategoryBreads, Main Meals, SandwichesDifficultyIntermediateThis turnover just screams summer. It contains fresh heirloom tomatoes only found during the summer and pesto made with farm fresh arugula. This recipe only makes 4 hand held turnovers but it can be doubled.
To make the turnovers, first we need to make the dough. This is basically the same dough I use for my thin flatbreads (or tortillas) except I'm using coconut oil.
Place the flour, sea salt and coconut oil in a bowl. Whisk together.
Then add a tablespoon as a time of the filtered water until it comes together. I used 9 Tablespoons to get the dough to wear it all came together and did not stick to my hands. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rest while you make the pesto.
For the pesto, place the arugula, walnuts, onion, shallot, red pepper flakes, sea salt and squeeze of lemon in a food processor. Process until combined.
Add to the mixture the parmigiano reggiano cheese (If you are completely plant based you can leave the cheese out.). Pulse a few times until the cheese is blended in, scraping down the sides.
While the food processor is running drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil into the mixture until it all comes together. Scoop out the pesto in a glass jar. Place the pesto to the side.
Take your heirloom tomato and slice the tomatoes and then cut the slices in half. Place the tomatoes to the side.
In a fry pan on medium/high heat place some coconut oil in the pan I would say about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of coconut oil.
Go back to the rested turnover dough and make four dough balls with the dough. The best way to do this is to take the big ball of dough and just cut it horizontally and then vertically to get four pieces. Then roll each piece into a ball.
Flour the surface of your board or counter with some flour to roll out the dough. Take one of the balls of dough to roll out to a 6 inch wide circle.
Take the circle and place about two tablespoons of pesto and two half slices of the tomato on half of the circle.
Fold the dough over and crimp the edges to seal. Repeat until all the turnovers are completed.
Place the turnovers in the heated pan to fry. It should take about four minutes on each side. You can tell when to flip the turnover when you see the edges becoming brown.
I decided to bake one out of the four turnovers to see the results and it turned out just as good as the fried version. To bake the turnovers, Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a pan lightly brush coconut oil on the pan and place the turnovers on it. After 8 minutes flip the turnovers to the other side after another 8 minutes they should be done.
*If you want to go oil free you can place a piece of parchment paper on the pan instead of brushing oil on the pan. However I have not tested this method.
The top three are fried and the bottom one is baked.
Ingredients
Directions
To make the turnovers, first we need to make the dough. This is basically the same dough I use for my thin flatbreads (or tortillas) except I'm using coconut oil.
Place the flour, sea salt and coconut oil in a bowl. Whisk together.
Then add a tablespoon as a time of the filtered water until it comes together. I used 9 Tablespoons to get the dough to wear it all came together and did not stick to my hands. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let the dough rest while you make the pesto.
For the pesto, place the arugula, walnuts, onion, shallot, red pepper flakes, sea salt and squeeze of lemon in a food processor. Process until combined.
Add to the mixture the parmigiano reggiano cheese (If you are completely plant based you can leave the cheese out.). Pulse a few times until the cheese is blended in, scraping down the sides.
While the food processor is running drizzle two tablespoons of olive oil into the mixture until it all comes together. Scoop out the pesto in a glass jar. Place the pesto to the side.
Take your heirloom tomato and slice the tomatoes and then cut the slices in half. Place the tomatoes to the side.
In a fry pan on medium/high heat place some coconut oil in the pan I would say about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of coconut oil.
Go back to the rested turnover dough and make four dough balls with the dough. The best way to do this is to take the big ball of dough and just cut it horizontally and then vertically to get four pieces. Then roll each piece into a ball.
Flour the surface of your board or counter with some flour to roll out the dough. Take one of the balls of dough to roll out to a 6 inch wide circle.
Take the circle and place about two tablespoons of pesto and two half slices of the tomato on half of the circle.
Fold the dough over and crimp the edges to seal. Repeat until all the turnovers are completed.
Place the turnovers in the heated pan to fry. It should take about four minutes on each side. You can tell when to flip the turnover when you see the edges becoming brown.
I decided to bake one out of the four turnovers to see the results and it turned out just as good as the fried version. To bake the turnovers, Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a pan lightly brush coconut oil on the pan and place the turnovers on it. After 8 minutes flip the turnovers to the other side after another 8 minutes they should be done.
*If you want to go oil free you can place a piece of parchment paper on the pan instead of brushing oil on the pan. However I have not tested this method.
The top three are fried and the bottom one is baked.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heirloom_tomato
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/heirloom-tomatoes-taste-better_n_5591495
https://www.chatelaine.com/health/diet/five-health-benefits-of-heirloom-tomatoes/
