Curried Puff & Slaw

My apologies in the delay since my last post, college seems to have gotten the best of me! But I am now home for spring break... or rather, was home. I'm now bloggin' at the airport en route to Orlando, FL.

 Puff pastry is a truly magical substance. Whooda thunk that it's vegan, as well? It's certainly not something to make a habit of eating, but it's fun to make a special treat with it. In this recipe I made some basic curried vegetables with potato, cauliflower, and chickpeas, then wrapped those in puff pastry and baked the whole thing. Served alongside a very tasty slaw, this was an excellent meal.


Curried Vegetable Puff
 2 T. vegetable oil
2 t. garam masala
2 t. curry powder
1/2 t. opt. additional spices (ex: whole mustard and cumin seeds)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. fresh ginger, minced
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 potato, cubed
1/2 cup cauliflower, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup green peas
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/4 cup raisins
1 box puff pastry, thawed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cabbage Slaw
1 bag of cole slaw mix (cabbage, brocolli, carrots... all the goodies)
1/3 cup red wine vinaigrette (Use Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette... it's my favorite dressing)
1 t. curry powder
1 T. chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
 1/4 cup raisins

For the slaw, mix together the vinaigrette with the curry powder and fresh cilantro. Toss with the slaw mix and raisins. Chill for an hour or so to let the slaw marinate.

Preheat your oven to 375°. For the puff, start by making the curried vegetables. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan, I used my wok. Add the garlic, ginger, and spices and saute until fragrant, about two minutes. Add the onion and carrot and cook until soft. In a separate medium-sized pot, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook about ten minutes, then add the cauliflower and cook until both are tender. Drain and toss in with the vegetables. Stir in the raisins, green peas, and chickpeas. Season with salt and pepper, and more curry powder and garam masala if desired.

To assemble the puff, roll out the thawed puff pastry onto a floured surface. Spoon about half the vegetables in the middle, then fold the two edges inward onto each other. Pinch together the ends, repeat for the second, bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned, then voila! A curried vegetable puff.

To serve, slice the puff into thin slices and serve atop a healthy heap of your slaw. Garnish with fresh lime wedges.

Serves 4-6.