Adult Hot Pockets
It's not a great idea to spend time on Instagram when you're hungry, especially if you follow a lot of food people. The dishes stream by -- enviable winter citrus salads, the kind of fried chicken you'd drive several hours to try, and perfect Sunday roasts.
And then there's the whole category of labor-intensive foods you're probably never going to motivate to make, though you really want to: handmade pasta, dumplings, all of the baked goods, anything that requires 100 ingredients you don't own and your town doesn't sell, and, of course, hand pies. You know, adult hand pockets.
On a recent hungry evening, we scrolled past this very picture -- by one of our staff members -- of pork and mozzarella adult hot pockets with sautéed mushrooms, kale, and onions. And, determined to actually take the time to make them, we asked for the recipe. We're glad we did. It's less labor-intensive than we imagined, especially if you use pre-made dough.
Rami Dahdal's Adult Hot Pockets
1# of dough
1# of ground pork
3 cups of shredded mozzarella
3 cups of shredded kale
2 cups of diced mushrooms
1 cup of diced white onions
4 tablespoons of olive oil
1 egg
fennel seed, basil, parsley, salt, white pepper, and garlic powder to taste
Preheat your oven to 400F.
While you're waiting for it to heat up, sauté mushrooms, kale, and onions in a pan/skillet on the stovetop with a little olive oil plus a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Mix in your ground pork till it’s evenly distributed. Add a heavy pinch of fennel seed, basil, parsley, salt, white pepper, and garlic powder to taste.
Stir occasionally, then let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Divide your 1# of dough into thirds, then stretch them out into 7 x 4" rectangles. Place them on a cooking sheet.
On top of the rectangles of dough, add shredded mozzarella (1 cup per pocket) and sautéed pork with mushrooms, kale, and onions.
Fold the ends of the dough together to form a pocket. Lightly powder them with flour, then throw them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Take the pockets out of the oven and brush them with an egg wash. (This will give them that crispy golden crust.) Pop them back in the oven for another 10 minutes or until they're crispy golden brown.
Rami says this makes 3 to 4 servings depending on sides and slicing. Marinara sauce sprinkled with parmesan (reggiano, the adult kind) on the side seals the deal.
