When we were trying to decide where to go on vacation this summer when I was almost 8 months pregnant all I could think about was lying on a beach somewhere with almost nothing to do, but swimming and playing with the kids in the cool water. We looked at resorts from Hawaii to the Caribbean and ended up where we were guaranteed good weather and sunshine, but picking the Turks in Caicos in my mind meant forfeiting good food. When I worked there in the past the food was mediocre at best. Boy have times changed.
The hotel we chose had a beautiful breakfast buffet in the morning, so I didn’t have to even think about cooking which in itself was a total luxury. For lunch I would make simple sandwiches and smoothies to keep us going as we spent most of our day riding bikes, playing in the ocean, pool and for dinner we would go out. When we were planning the trip I figured I would just be happy with the frozen food, one or two local fish and wilted vegetables I assumed most of the restaurants would serve. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Every restaurant we tried was better than the one before and talk about diversity. French, Caribbean, Japanese, Vietnamese and beyond. Since we were there for Father’s Day, I wanted to try something special for my hubby that we don’t eat a lot of at home, Indian. I wasn’t sure how the kids would like it as I don’t cook a lot of Indian cuisine, but absolutely love it. We ordered way too much food, but I wanted to make sure I had a variety of dishes for them to try. When I tell you there wasn’t a bit of food remaining on the table I’m not kidding. The kids loved the last dish more than the one before and even begged us to order a second serving of samosas, so I felt like I couldn’t say no. They were filled with an array of vegetables and have a light, crispy outside shell made of puffed pastry. They were so delectable I bet the kids would have ordered even more.
Once we got home we talked about how much we loved our special Indian dinner, so I recreated them by making these Vegetarian Baked Samosas. They’re so special that I even double the recipe to freeze a bunch for busy school nights, so I can just pop a few in the toaster oven.
Sadly we’re not going back to the islands any time soon, but I can still dream about our trip while taking bites of these tasty vegetarian treats!
Vegetarian Baked Samosas
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated
- 1/4 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
- 1/4 cup frozen peas, defrosted
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 package (20 sheets) 9×14 phyllo dough
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Thaw the phyllo dough following the directions on the package. Unroll and cover with a damp paper towel to prevent drying.
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil.
- Boil the potatoes until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Mash the potatoes until smooth.
- Add the carrots, corn, peas, garlic powder, cumin, turmeric, and salt to the mashed potatoes and stir to mix well.
- Place one phyllo sheet down and brush with melted butter using a pastry brush. Repeat with two more sheets so you have 3 sheets of phyllo stacked in front of you. Cut lengthwise into 3 strips.
- Place 1 tablespoon of the filling at the bottom end of each strip. Fold the corner of the dough over the filling to form a triangle. Continue to fold the triangle over itself. Brush the top with melted butter. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling.
- Place triangles, seam side down, on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown.
You can bake from frozen, just add a few minutes to the baking time!
If you freeze them, do you thaw them before baking? Is the baking time the same if you bake them from frozen? Thanks!
I will add it to the list of videos to make! Thanks for the suggestion!
I would love to try it but I am not sure how to work with phyllo dough. Could you please make a video of this recipe? Thanks!!!
Hi! Your description sounds like you used puff pastry but the recipe says phyllo – which should it be? Has anyone used one or the other? Thanks!
I just made these last night and they were delicious! I did add one piece of chicken breast chopped/torn apart into tiny pieces. I also left out the tumeric because I didn’t have any and substituted chili powder for the cumin because again I was out. My baking time was also around 20 minutes. These were very tasty, the prep time did take me longer, but then again I do not use phyllo dough very often. Will definitely be making these again!
Oh and mine too were well done in 20 min! Depends on the oven. Thanks again 🙂
Thanks for the recipe. Made these today and my 5yr old loves them as do I. I made a bit larger batch and used half with your spice mixture and the other half with a butter chicken sauce because my kids love butter chicken. Both turned out great!
I made these tonight and they were so yummy! I will say that mine were pretty well done in about 20 minutes, so anyone else who tries them should just keep an eye on their oven since every oven can be different. Thanks Catherine!
Great recipe! Does the veggies have to be frozen?
Hi! Do you mind sharing where you stayed? We’d love to travel there!