I've sung the praises of frozen puff pastry before and I'm back to do it again. Not only is this stuff excellent for making quick work of elegant desserts and morning pastries, it can do some pretty impressive heavy lifting for your dinner plans too. This time around, I'm offering a pocket sandwich in which the outer shell is made from puff pastry and the filling is leftover diced chicken mixed with a simple, yet satisfying curry-inspired filling.
Any leftover cooked chicken will do for the filling in these sandwiches, but I'm particularly fond of using part of a Costco rotisserie chicken, mostly because the price can't be beat. That's particularly true if you also make stock with the carcass. Follow the link above for more on that.
You can sprinkle a different seasoning on the top of the puff pastry if you'd like, but I'm partial to an everything bagel seasoning like the ones carried by Trader Joes and Aldi. They are simple, tasty, and a pretty affordable way to add a little extra pizzaz to your pocket sandwiches!
Curried Chicken Pocket Sandwiches
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3 cups cooked, diced chicken
- 1 (17.25 ounce) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
- 1 egg, whisked with a fork
- 1-2 tablespoons Everything But the Bagel Seasoning
Preheat the oven to 400° F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala, turmeric, ground cumin, chili powder, and salt to combine. Stir in the cooked, diced chicken and set aside.
Unfold the thawed puff pastry sheets and repair any cracks by pressing them back together. Spoon half of the curried chicken mixture onto the center of each square. Fold the pastry over from corner to corner into a triangle shape and press the edges together to seal. Carefully place the pocket sandwiches on a baking sheet, leaving a bit of space between them. Brush the tops of the sandwiches with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the Everything But the Bagel Seasoning.
Bake the sandwiches for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven until they are puffed and lightly browned. Cool slightly before slicing each sandwich in half and serving.
- Yields: 4 servings (1 serving = ½ sandwich)
- Preparation Time: 40 minutes