Crawfish Bread with Smoked Cheddar

Most crawfish bread recipes are made with a hollowed out loaf of French bread. Here, the crawfish filling is enrobed in a tender ricotta dough, making these more like turnovers. Whether you make them small for pick-up party food or a more substantial calzone-like size, these are perfect for tailgating and holiday cocktail parties. Makes 8 large or 16 small turnovers.

Dough
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder

Filling
1 pound peeled crawfish tails, chopped
3/4 cup diced onion
4 ounces shredded smoked Gouda cheese (1 cup)
1/2 cup grated peeled carrot (about 1 medium)
1 /2 cup chili sauce (I use Heinz)
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 large egg, beaten

Make the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, milk and garlic powder.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Using a fork, stir the ricotta mixture into the flour mixture to form a shaggy dough. Gather the dough together with your hands and press it into a flat disk about 8 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while making the filling.

Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine the crawfish tails, onion, cheese, carrot, chili sauce, bell pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Using a sharp knife, cut the dough disk into 8 wedges. Gather each wedge and shape it into a ball. Roll each ball into a 7- to 8-inch circle. Place 1/2 cup of the filling in center of each circle. Fold the dough over the filling to form half moon shapes. Using the tines of a fork, press the edges to seal.

Place the turnovers on the prepared baking sheets. Brush the top of each turnover with beaten egg. With a sharp knife, cut a small slit in top of each turnover to let the steam escape while baking.

Bake the turnovers for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from upper to lower halfway through baking to insure even cooking. Remove the baking sheets from the oven and transfer the turnovers to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before serving.