This article originally appeared on The Nosher.
The inspiration for these flaky, cheesy leek and feta hamantaschen comes from my best friend Danielle’s mother, Hannah. On almost any given visit to Hannah’s kitchen, there was a quiche just going into the oven or just coming out.
She would mix three or four European cheeses, many of which I had never heard of as a college kid, together with caramelized onions and vegetables, farm fresh eggs and the flakiest pastry. The result was a bit different each time, but there was always a perfect balance of saltiness from the cheese, sweetness from the onions and richness from the crust that was so much more than just dough.
For these savory hamantaschen, I make a quick all-butter pie crust using salted butter and freshly ground black pepper. There is no fancy equipment required, though you could also use a pastry cutter or food processor if you are accustomed to making pie crust.
The two most important things to remember when making pie crust is that all of the ingredients need to be very cold, and to work the dough minimally to ensure the crust is flaky. Then I make the filling by caramelizing leeks in olive oil and adding crumbled feta and cottage cheese. I use a mix of these two cheeses because the cottage cheese really mellows out the sharpness of the feta and creates a very creamy filling.
These leek and feta hamantaschen would be the perfect appetizer or side for any Purim party. I’ve even made them larger using a 4 1/2-inch circle cutter. With a salad or cup of soup, they are easily a very festive light lunch.