FARE

Cooking vs. Baking

Meals like this are my favourite.  A…because their components are pretty to look at and 2…because there is so much room to play with ingredients and create multiple flavour profiles. For both my samosas and mango chutney I looked at a bunch of recipes. I made a list of almost absolutely every ingredient anyone has ever put into a samosa or mango chutney and then I used the ones I like best, in measurements that I thought appropriate.

If I’ve learned anything in the last few months it’s that this ‘throw in whatever you want business’ is more like a recipe for disaster where bread is concerned. The whole reason I went to school was to learn the art/rules of baking and for art it’s pretty precise. This is not to say you can’t experiment with flavours and ‘make-up’ techniques. There is in fact a lot of room for that. It’s more about following precise ingredient measurement and mixing techniques to achieve the necessary dough structure.

As my bread making unit comes to a close this week and as I sit here eating one of my 50 samosas, I can say with certainty, that I’m not consuming any bread related product until Christmas.

Ummm except phyllo. Crap.

*When you read this recipe it might seem like I stood over the ground beef and just kept adding spices. I did.

Beef Samosas

1 lb lean ground beef

2-3 Tbls coconut oil

454g butter (1 block)

4 small potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 x 1cm pieces

1 1/2 cup peas

1 medium onion, diced

1 1/2 Tbls ginger, grated

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large red chili, minced

1 1/2 Tbls chili garlic paste (sriracha)

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp mild curry powder

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp coriander, ground

1 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp celery salt

salt and pepper to taste

4-5 Tbls cilantro, finely chopped 

3 packages of phyllo dough

* Be sure to remove phyllo dough from the freezer at least 5 hours before you want to use it so that it can thaw. You can also let it sit in the fridge for up to 7 days before using.

In a large pan, over medium high heat, pour in coconut oil and saute the onions, garlic and ginger until onions are translucent. 

Add ground beef the onions and get it browning. Break it down in the pan so there aren’t any large chunks. When the beef is halfway to being fully browned add the spices and chili pepper (chili powder, curry powder, garam masala, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, celery salt, salt and pepper). Remove from heat and set aside in a large bowl.

In a separate pan, melt 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter and cook the potato pieces until soft. Add softened potato pieces, frozen peas and cilantro to the meat and spice mixture. Mix until well combined.

On a clean surface unroll one package of phyllo dough. Cut the dough lengthwise into three equal size long rectangles, about 4 1/4 ” x 17”. Cover the phyllo in a damp cloth so that it doesn’t dry out while you’re working. In the microwave, melt half of the butter in small bowl and set aside (you may or may not need all of the remaining 200-ish grams of butter for brushing).

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees Celsius.

Remove one sheet of phyllo dough from the pile and lay it on the counter. Brush with melted butter. Grab a second sheet of phyllo and place it on top of the first. Brush again with butter. Repeat one more time. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoons of beef mixture onto the corner end of the buttered stack of phyllo. Fold one corner over top of the beef creating a triangle. Take the back corner and fold it over to meet the opposite side of the phyllo rectangle, carry on with this back and forth until you have all the phyllo wrapped up and you’re left with a stuffed triangle package. If that description just confused you, there are lots of examples you can find on-line.

Place of a parchment lined baking sheet and brush the tops with melted butter. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

You can also put these directly in the freezer for a later date. Don’t brush with butter until just before they go into the oven. From frozen, bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes.

Makes 50 

Serve with a tangy, sweet chutney.

Maggie’s Mango Chutney

3 mangos, peeled and diced (5 cups)

1 medium onion diced

1/2 cup raisins

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tsp ginger, fresh grated

1 tsp cumin, ground

1 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp celery salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

Zest of 1 orange

Juice from 1/2 an orange

Toss all ingredients into a medium sized pot and bring to a simmer on medium heat until all the liquid evaporates, about 35-40 minutes.

Makes about 3-4 cups

Photos and recipes by Maggie Murphy