Samosa

Dough:

This recipe calls for:
1.5 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
80 ml. warm water

To prepare:
- Mix together flour and salt, and create a well in the centre
- Add oil and water, mix together and kneed until you have a firm and smooth dough (you may need to use more water)
- Let dough sit for 30 minutes, covered with plastic wrap


Filling:

This recipe calls for:
1 potato, peeled and diced to 5 -10 mm cubes
1 onion, fine diced
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tbsp. curry powder
100 ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:
- Begin cooking the garlic, onions and potatoes in vegetable oil over medium heat
- When semi-soft, add in the vegetables, curry powder, salt and pepper
- Add in vegetable stock and let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes


Making the samosa:
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Divide the dough into 12 even pieces
- Roll out dough thinly, size may vary
- Place dough round onto palm of your hand
- Using your finger, coat half of the circles, edge only, with water (semi-circle)
- Pinch coated edge together to form a cone, resting into your hand
- Put filling into cone, then coat remainder of edges with water
- Pinch rest of edges close, forming a triangular pyramid (samosa shape)
- Place on greased cookie sheet, placing a damp cloth over to keep them from drying out before you finish the rest of them
- Take a beaten egg and using a pastry brush, coat the top of the samosas to help them brown in the oven
- Watch them in the oven, and take out when nicely browned

Review:
This recipe was easier than I thought it was going to be. It was delicious!! When I first made it, the recipe called for 2 tsp of salt, but in the end it was too salty, so I cut it in half when I posted this. I think I'll add more curry next time I make, but that's just me.

The hardest part was forming it, but because they were baked I don't think it was that much of a problem. Samosas can also be deep fried.

Enjoy! :)


-The Littlest Chef

Beer and Cheddar Soup

It's not that hard to make, but it sounds super impressive! It's very rich and thick.


This recipe calls for:

3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 diced onion
1 diced red pepper
1-2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1/3 c. all purpose flour
2 c. milk
2 c. chicken stock
1 bottle beer (12 oz)
3/4 lb. old cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:
- In a large pot, over medium heat, melt butter and cook onions, garlic, peppers, and dry mustard powder for approximately 6 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
- Stir in flour with a wooden spoon to coat the vegetables, cook for an additional 3 minutes.
- With a whisk, gradually and slowly, add the milk. The last thing you want is to curdle the milk, so taking the pot off the element isn't a bad idea. Remember to keep the whisk moving at all times while pouring in the milk.
- Add the chicken stock and the beer, then bring to a simmer. Stir often so nothing sticks to the bottom.
- Once it's simmering, add the cheese (I grated it right into the pot), reduce the heat to medium-low, and stir until cheese is melted.
- Add your preferred amount of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper!
- The soup can be chilled. When reheating, do so over low heat and stir often.

Review:
I was shocked at how easy this was to make. I've had it at a few restaurants, and I find this one to be the best. The beer wasn't too over powering, and neither was the cheese. Sometimes you have it and the soup almost tastes like they put blue cheese in it, it tastes so strong! Adding extra beer to the recipe may just water down the flavours.

It's very rich, and thick and goes quite well with bannock and beer! Enjoy! :)


-The Littlest Chef

Food For Thought: Potatoes

Food for thought is my new idea to help inspiring cooks learn tricks of the trade! Okay, okay, I'm just giving cooking tips.

Potatoes:

If you didn't already know, when making mashed potatoes, it's a good idea to cut potatoes into smaller, but equal in size, pieces to help them cook faster.

If you are going to make boiled potatoes (but I also do this when I'm making mashed potatoes anyways), start them in cold water. Potatoes are very dense. When you start cooking them from cold water, this will allow them to cook more evenly from the outside in.

-The Littlest Chef

Perogies

I made three different types of perogies. Perogies are a type of dumpling, so any filling is optional. I made the popular potatoes and cheese, as well as a ground meat and sauerkraut, and a dessert one!


This recipe calls for:

Dough:
3 c. flour
3/4 c. water
1 egg
4 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

To prepare:

- Combine flour and salt into a bowl.
- Mix together beaten egg, water, and oil.
- Slowly mix dry and wet ingredients together, they may not combine completely. This is okay, you want it to be soft, not sticky or too dry.
- Kneed 10 times. Try not to over kneed the dough, you want it to stay soft.
- After needing, round the dough into a ball and place back into bowl. Place a damp cloth over the top, completely sealing it, and let it sit for 20 minutes. This gives you time to make the filling (see below for several options).

~~~

- Once the dough is ready, roll out until 1/16 inch thick (so super thin). Use a 3" round cutter (I used a larger rimed cup instead and it worked fine!).
- Scoop 1 - 2 tsp of filling into middle of the flat dough round. Fold over and pinch to closed edges. I believe it's easiest if you start from the middle and work to the ends, making a semicircle. Using your finger you can put a little bit of water around the edge to help it stick better.
- Place each of the perogies into a pot of boiling water for approximately 1.5 -2 minutes, or until they float.
- Once they float, take them out with a slotted spoon
- Transfer into a pan with oil or butter, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until gold brown on each side
- Enjoy!

Potato and cheese perogies

Meat and sauerkraut perogies

Raspberry dessert perogies

To make the fillings:

Traditional:
Mashed potato
Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Appetizer:
Ground turkey
Red onion
Green pepper
Sauerkraut
Salt and pepper to taste

Dessert:
Raspberries, fresh or frozen


Review:
They turned out amazing! While the dough is resting (proofing) for 20 minutes, you have enough time to make the filling. I did not write in amounts of each to use. Allow your imagination to fill in that part. However if you want exact amounts of each I put in leave a comment and I'll post it in reply.

The trickiest one to make was the raspberries one. I found it tasted bitter alone, so you can probably add sugar in with the raspberries (unless you like them bitter, I know people who do). I made them with frozen raspberries, but I think fresh may have been better. As they thawed they got pretty liquidy and therefore were harder to close, and then they bleed everywhere and my perogies were kind of pink. Also, if you don't want to add sugar into the filling, serving with apple sauce or maple syrup is also an option!

I made three different types of perogies to show you the endless possibilities!


-The Littlest Chef