I had already well established that stuffing puff pastry with delicious fillings only leads to more deliciousness when I started making puff pastry samosas. Then one Tuesday this past summer at about 4 p.m. I had a seismic realization. My daughter’s pre-school teachers were coming for a home visit. I would be expected to serve snacks. Of course I was expected to serve snacks. Helloooo. It’s like rule number 3 in Being a Gracious Host (Especially to your Child’s Future Teachers).

So at 4 p.m I established I was expected to serve snacks. For a 5:30 p.m. visit. I was still in Manhattan trying to leave work. Did I mention it was 4 p.m.? What to do? Option one was stop and buy something. I’m still not entirely sure why this option didn’t win. Option two was whip up something easy and yummy with Indian flavorings which highlighted my culinary abilities and our cultural background.

Why do I like to make life hard? I called my nanny who helps me keep it altogether and asked her to boil peas and potatoes and take the puff pastry out of the fridge. By the time I got home, the wheels were in motion for puff pasty samosas. Except that I had no time to roll out the triangles, pinching together the edges and painting each individual triangle with egg white wash.

So here’s what I did. I opened up the rectangle of puff pastry dough. I spooned a generous quantity of the potato and pea mixture slightly off center of the rectangle and then I rolled the left side over the mixture followed by the right. Then I brushed a little egg white on top and baked the whole thing. When it was finished, I sliced the whole loaf into 2-inch thick slices.

Success.

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