Thanksgiving was so great this year. My mom, my sister and my brother-in-law came to visit from Connecticut. The three of them combined with my small family made for a total of six at the table. It was a small, quality group. My mom is very traditional and she was front and center when I created the Thanksgiving menu.  It consisted of turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, cranberry sauce, rolls, pickles, and olives. All followed up by the standard apple and pumpkin pie. We busted a move from tradition with a side of quinoa for the vegetarians in the group (running with scissors, I know!). We had a wonderful meal, great conversation and a nice, cozy time together. One of my favorite parts to the meal was the Gratitude Game we played at the end (Google “Gratitude Questions” and you can play too!).

The next day, I started thinking about what I could make with the leftovers that is non-traditional.  Since I didn’t play the “non-traditional card” on Thanksgiving Day, I figured I could do something fun with the leftovers. I pulled out my cookbooks for inspiration and found it right away. Samosas with turkey leftovers inside! That was it. I hesitated for just a split second thinking, “this borders on pie” (given that Samosas are essentially savory food inside pie shell). But then I realized, dare I say, I’m getting pretty good with the pastry shell.  And so, I forged ahead, making the pastry dough and gathering my leftovers to assemble these tasty nuggets.

Oh, one last thing…. In the interest of full disclosure, I did not BRING these Samosas anywhere. My boys scarfed them down in what seemed like nanoseconds.  Every now and then they would take a small breath and utter, “these are killer”!  Enjoy and happy holidays.

Ingredients

Dough:
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp paprika
2/3 cup cold butter, cubed
2/3 cup cold water

Egg wash:
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk

Filling:
Leftovers!  This can include anything in your fridge.  I used turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. I wished I had more leftover veggies, because I definitely would have stuffed a few of these with veggies! Have gravy on the side for dipping!

Method

To make the dough, place flour, salt, baking powder, turmeric, and paprika in a food processor. Add butter and process until sand-like, approximate 10 seconds. Add water and pulse until mixture just comes together. Wrap dough in saran wrap and allow it to rest in refrigerator for at least an hour.

When ready, line up leftovers and take dough out of fridge and preheat the oven to 350. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough and cut into circles approximately 5 inches in diameter (I used the top of a large yogurt container to make the cut outs). Place approximately ¼ cup of filling on half of the circle of dough. Fold the dough over to make a half moon. Seal the edges well by pinching dough together. I used a folk to push down the edges and make little ridges.

Place samosas on parchment lined baking sheet. Mix 1 egg with 1 Tbsp of milk to make egg wash. Brush each samosas with the egg wash. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. They can be shallow fried if you prefer in 2 inches of vegetable oil until golden brown.

Gobble, gobble!