Spicy Samosas
There are a bunch of things I wanted to share with you today. A few were opinionated rants, a few were weather woes, and a few were those oh-so-often sappy Mama moments, but instead, I decided to be productive and actually share something you can use.
Because, like, who doesn't need more recipes?
Especially recipes that utilize that oh-so-inexpensive ground beef. Love those kinds! This recipe also utilizes some delicious spices and that yogurt dough we made last week. Nourishing and delicious.
I had a sweet friend come up to me after church and tell me that she's been delving into the recipe archives on this 'ol blog and that it's been inspiring her to really get back into her Nourishing Traditions cooking — fabulous!!!! I hope this blog and all these danged recipes inspire you to cook and nourish your family. It's not just about putting food on the table. It's about using the best tools we have available to build a healthy foundation for our children to grow with. It's about setting our children's health as a priority. It's about providing for our families with wholesome, nutrient-dense, natural, healing, and (often) frugal food. Girlfriend can still do a lot with ground beef, baby.
And let's be honest here — you can fold this however you like. But I believe the traditional samosa has three sides, so that's what we do — okay?! Back off!
Oh my. Oh, my, my, my.
They're like little morsels of protein heaven. Perfect for packing on a picnic or in lunches for work! G-baby loves 'em. This go-round, I served them with a roasted butternut squash soup and sautéed kale, though they'd be delicious served with a traditional tzatziki sauce.
So there ya have it. Pretty painless, huh? The assembling of the pastries takes the longest amount of time, but it's also easily done ahead of time.
I've gotten a bee in my bonnet these past few weeks to begin preparing and freezing food at the beginning of the month. I'd like to be able to set aside the first Saturday of the month and devote it to preparing meals that we can eat on throughout the rest of the month — soups, spaghetti, meatloaf, taco meat, bread, etc. This samosa-hamburger mixture is a perfect candidate for preparing and freezing ahead of time.
February will be my first attempt at organizing this cook-a-thon...
Let's hope it won't be my last.
Enjoy!
Homemade Samosas
While traditional samosas are made with ground lamb, I use grass-fed, local ground beef, cause that's what I have! We're still working on the quarter steer we bought back in the summer from a nearby ranch. At $3.30 a pound for steaks, roasts, hamburgers, and soup bones, it's hard to beat!
Ingredients:
½ recipe yogurt dough (see below)
1 pound high-quality ground beef
1 onion, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ cups cooked quinoa or brown rice (I prefer quinoa because it yields a lighter samosa)
¼ cup toasted almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, etc.
¼ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp sea salt, pepper to taste
1 tsp curry powder (optional)
Zest of one lemon, plus 3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
¼ cup feta cheese or crumbled goat cheese (optional, but delicious!)
Instructions:
In a skillet, brown the hamburger until completely cooked. Drain the excess fat out.
Add the minced onion in with the ground beef. Drizzle with the olive oil. Saute until the onion has slightly softened (3-5 minutes).
Add in the cooked quinoa (or rice), toasted nuts (or seeds), cinnamon, cayenne, salt, curry powder, lemon zest, lemon juice, cilantro, and feta. Stir to combine.
Taste your mixture and see if it needs any more spices. There's no turning back after this next step….
Grab your pre-soaked yogurt dough and divide it into walnut-sized portions. Then, on a floured surface, gently roll each ball of dough into a circle. Place a scoop of the beef mixture smack dab in the middle of the circle. Then (carefully!) fold the pastry into a triangle, gently pinching the edges together to create a seal. And as you can see, mine are far from perfect. I've come to terms with it.
Once you've completed all your samosas, gently brush them with melted butter or olive oil.
Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 30-40 minutes or until nice and toasty.
Yogurt Dough
Ingredients:
3 ½ cups whole wheat flour (hard or soft wheat works great — freshly ground is best!)
1 cup softened butter, ghee, or coconut oil (I like butter)
1 cup plain yogurt (watered down KEFIR works well, too!)
2 tsp sea salt
Instructions:
Whip together the butter and yogurt. Then, add in the flour bit by bit until it's nice and combined. Add in the sea salt and mix a little more. Now cover the dough and allow to soak at room temperature for 24(ish) hours.
That's it! Use to your heart’s delight!
