Kale & Feta Turnovers: A Quick Save, a Big Win
At the MLK Jr. Educational Campus, creativity in the kitchen is always on the menu. One day, while planning lessons for the hydroponic farm program, teacher Erica Yonks noticed two boxes of puff pastry dough sitting in the fridge, left over from a previous recipe and about to expire.
Wasting food wasn’t an option.
With her students, Erica looked for something that could come together quickly, use fresh greens from the farm, and turn pantry odds and ends into something craveable. That’s when they found a recipe for spinach and kale turnovers—and made it their own.
Adapted from a Healthy Harvest Farm CSA recipe, their version featured hydroponically grown kale and spinach harvested right on campus. The result? Flaky, savory turnovers that were easy to make and hard to stop eating.
A perfect example of turning a “use it or lose it” moment into a fun, hands-on cooking lesson—and a delicious way to highlight the farm’s fresh produce.
Ingredients (TFFJ Produce Highlighted 🌿)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium chopped white onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 cups destemmed & chopped kale (about 6-8 plants) 🌿
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (3 oz) crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- 1 (11.3 oz) can refrigerated dinner roll or puff pastry dough cooking spray
Directions
- Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add onion and garlic. Sauté for 10 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.
- Add kale. Sauté for 8 minutes, or until the kale is tender and wilted.
- Stir in pepper, salt and nutmeg.
- Remove from heat. Cool slightly. Stir in feta and parmesan.
- Separate the dough into 8 pieces, or even-sized squares if using puff pastry dough.
- Spoon about 2-3 tablespoons of kale mixture in the middle of each piece of dough, leaving a 1” border.
- Fold dough over the kale mixture until edges meet.
- Crimp the edges of the dough with a fork or fingers to seal the rim
- Place turnovers on an aluminum foil-lined air fryer baking sheet
- Bake for 5 minutes or until golden and lightly puffed. Flip over and repeat on the other side
- Let stand at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
