Here's one deliciously clever book, and a recipe that may be just right to be prepare right after reading. This is part of our celebration of Children's Book Week, and we will go on sharing our favorite children's stories -- and recipes inspired on them up to Friday.
One question here before you run to bake samosas: Who can resist to eat puff pastry? Well, maybe Little Pea -- the main character of this cute book -- wouldn't be able to taste it. She was always in trouble, with her parents having to make her eat candy as a main course. So that finally she could eat spinach for dessert.
Little Pea, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Jen Corace, is lots of fun and beyond inspiring. It makes kids laugh out loud, maybe in awe of how wonderful life would be if candy was the main part of their meals. Or maybe, not really so good ...
When Darienne read the book to our four boys, they were very intrigued by Little Pea's story. Mostly, they all understood that maybe too much candy might be not so delicious.That didn't mean that they were all crying for spinach, broccoli, or Brussel sprouts right after listening to the story... But were all curious enough to try this new snack, based on an original recipe from Pakistan.
Potato Samosas
This recipe was shared by Asma, one of the mothers who cooks with the kids in our Cooking Club at school. We were surprised how excited the kids got about trying samosas, for most of them a novelty. They loved mashing the potatoes and folding the puff pastry. At school they also had the chance to see all the spices that make garam masala, including a very intriguing and aromatic black cardamom pod.
5 square puff pastry sheets, cut diagonally (I used Pepperidge Farm brand)
1 large potato, boiled or microwaved (russet was used in this recipe)
1/4 cup cooked peas
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used canola)
1/4 cup yellow or red onions
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 to 1 teaspoon garam masala, to taste
Salt to taste
Cook or bake potato and peel it. In a shallow skillet, slowly fry onions in vegetable oil, until translucent and darkened, and set aside. Mash potatoes to a smooth texture.
Mix onions with potatoes. Add spices, salt ,and finally peas. Blend well. Stuff middle of each triangle of pastry with potato and peas mix and seal all borders.
Bake at 400 F (or temperature indicated on package of pastry) for about 15 minutes or until golden.
3 comments:
Bravo to you, girls, to have this clever idea of creating a culinary celebration of the Children's book week! In is what in Portuguese is called "to kill two rabbits in a single stroke". And who would not eat vegetables enveloped in such an inviting pastry?
I can't wait to try this with the ladies. Sounds delicious. Of course, anything wrapped in puffed pastry is ok in my book.
We are big fans of Little Pea! And these samosas look yummy and so easy!
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