Name: Somsa
Yield: about 24 pastries
Cuisine: Turkmenistan
Ingredients: 500 g all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling; 250 ml warm water; 60 ml neutral oil or melted butter; 6 g fine salt; 800 g peeled winter squash or pumpkin, in ¼-inch (5 mm) dice; 300 g onions (about 2 medium), finely diced; 80 g butter, cut into small pieces; 9 g fine salt; ¾ tsp ground black pepper; 4 g sugar, if the squash is not sweet (optional); ½ tsp ground cumin (optional); 450 g lamb shoulder or beef chuck, chopped by hand into small dice, or coarsely ground; 450 g peeled winter squash or pumpkin, in ¼-inch (5 mm) dice; 300 g onions (about 2 medium), finely diced; 9 g fine salt; ¾ tsp ground black pepper; ½ tsp ground cumin; 900 g spinach, washed, dried well and chopped; 300 g onions (about 2 medium), finely diced; 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced; 80 g butter, cut into small pieces; 9 g fine salt; ¾ tsp ground black pepper; 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water; sesame or nigella seeds (optional)

Method

Dough

Mix the flour (500 g4 cups) and salt (6 g1 tsp). Add the warm water (250 ml1 cup) and the oil (60 ml¼ cup) and mix to a soft, smooth dough. Knead 5 to 8 minutes.
Wrap the dough and rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Filling

Make one of the three fillings. Squash: mix the squash, onions, salt and pepper, with the sugar and cumin if using. Keep the butter separate; a piece goes into each pastry. Squash and meat: mix the meat, squash, onions, salt, pepper and cumin, working it briefly with your hand so it holds together. Spinach: toss the spinach with 1 tsp of the salt, leave it 10 minutes, then squeeze out the liquid by the handful. Mix it with the onions, scallions, pepper and the rest of the salt. Keep the butter separate.

Shape

Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line two baking sheets with parchment.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface, half at a time, about 2 mm (a scant ⅛ inch) thick. Cut 5-inch (12 cm) rounds, gathering and re-rolling the scraps.
Put 2 tablespoons of filling on one half of each round, with a piece of butter on top for the squash or spinach filling. Fold the other half over into a half-moon and press the edge shut. Crimp it by folding the edge over itself all the way along, or press it with a fork.
Set the pastries on the sheets. Brush them with the egg yolk and sprinkle with seeds if you like.

Bake

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden, swapping the sheets halfway. Serve warm.

Notes

Triangles. For the other common shape, put the filling in the middle of the round, bring three sides up over it and pinch the seams together. Bake them seam side down.
Squash. Butternut, kabocha or a dense cooking pumpkin all work. Cut it small so it cooks through in the oven.
Meat. Hand-chopped meat stays juicier than finely ground. With lean meat, add a piece of butter to each pastry.
Freezing. Freeze the shaped, unbaked pastries on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes. Baked ones reheat in 10 minutes at 350°F.
The same fillings go into Manty.

Somsa

Ingredients

Dough

Filling, option A: squash

Filling, option B: squash and meat

Filling, option C: spinach

To finish

Method

Dough

Filling

Shape

Bake

Notes

Ingredients

Dough

Filling, option A: squash

Filling, option B: squash and meat

Filling, option C: spinach

To finish