Wednesday, December 06, 2006

jamaican patties — vegetarian or meat, you decide

jamaican patties have been tres populaire as a snackfood for some time now. i like to make them for a light supper or lunch and serve them with a green salad, usually something flavourful like arugula (rocket). they are easily made and "fake" meat like yves ground round or tvp can substitute for the ground beef when you want a vegetarian alternative. if using tvp, reconstitute it first with hot water (1 c tvp to 1 c boiling water). i have also filled them with a mixture of dry-ish mashed potatoes mixed with sweet green peas, using the same spices and some lemon juice — kind of like a classic samosa filling. a friend of mine replaces the curry powder with garam masala for a different flavouring.

i will be adding pictures soon of the steps to make these.

jamaican beef patties,
vegetarian or not

makes 12

photo: café m

for the dough:

3 c AP flour
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt

1/2 cold margarine*
1/2 cold crisco* (or more margarine)
1 egg
1 tbsp white vinegar
3 or 4 tbsp ice water


method:

cut the fats you are using into cubes and keep them cold.

in a bowl mix the dry ingredients together. add the crisco and margarine and blend in using a pastry cutter or knives. this can be done in a food processor also. mix or cut it until it resembles cornmeal (coarse).

in a cup mix egg and vinegar together. add this to flour and mix in.

add the ice water in increments and mix gently. add only enough for the dough to hold together. do NOT overmix the dough.

if doing it old fashioned way in a bowl, turn it a few times until it holds together.

divide it in 3 equal pieces and refrigerate while you make the filling.

for the filling:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 hot green pepper, minced
1 large onion, diced
1 lb yves ground round or regular ground beef [or enough tvp = 1 lb]
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 c DRY bread crumbs
1/2 c water
salt & pepper to taste

method:

fry the onion with the garlic and hot pepper until the onion is softened. add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. if using ground round, cook for a few minutes to heat through. add the spices and bread crumbs. add the water, mix everything and cover. cook over medium heat until the water has evaporated. add salt and pepper to your liking. let mixture cool.

to make the patties:

heat oven to 400 F. line a baking sheet with either parchment or foil. you do not need to grease the foil as there is enough oil in the dough for them not to stick.

separate each ball of dough into 4 equal pieces. you will have 12 patties in the end. separate the filling into 12 equal portions.

making one patty at a time, roll each ball of dough into a 6 inch circle on a floured board. in the lower half of one circle, add one portion of the filling. turn the top half over to match the bottom half and seal the edges with a fork. prick the patty a few times on top.

you may use an egg wash here if you like before pricking the dough.

bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

enjoy with a nice green salad on the side!

19 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Those Jamaican patties look wonderful! I have a recipe at home, but I have never tried it. I'll have to bookmark it!

aja said...

I loooove Jamaican pattys - and coconut bread - totally unhealthy lunch but there you go... sometime you need to indulge. Haven't thought about these in a while, for some strange reason there is no Jamaican community here to provide such delicacies, our loss. Darn, this is another recipe I'll just have to try out 8^P

burekaboy — said...

rosa - you GOTTA try them!! and i want pictures!! lol. they really are worth every effort.

aja - lol, well you could always open your own little "coconut hut" in jaffa. they'd for sure sell. i've never had coconut bread but it does sound like a great treat afterwards! like i said to rosa above, this is a really good recipe i have used for years. they are great for taking for lunches or just to have for 'snacky time'. ya, mon.

Beenzzz said...

Hey BB,
This sounds like a baked version of the Guyanese-style samosas. My mom will make them with diced potatoes, ground lamb, or turkey. Great stuff!

ML said...

I love the idea of putting curry in the dough! Yummy looking stuff! Like Beanzzz said, our mom makes something similar.

burekaboy — said...

beenzzz & ml - i could eat a ton of these. you guys should make a batch of the guyanese kind and post it! they sound good. the curry in the dough, obviously from the turmeric, makes the dough a nice bright yellow.

Anonymous said...

Yes you have my attention!!!!! :) Great recipe. Will try and let you know :)

burekaboy — said...

rooma - looking forward to seeing your results. these are baked so they are a bit healthier.

Anonymous said...

oh my! ok... yuh know meh trinimaican side gonna have something to say :P

now me eh know if this is what the west indian stores been making for all yuh .. but a street-side kingston patty doesn't have curry or eggs :) the eggs i imagine would give it a more turnover feel?

patty pastry should be very flat n flaky with a -distinct- horizontal grain :) I always peel mine into strips like spaghetti to make it last longer :D

the filling uses -fresh- breadcrumbs and should end up a creamy paste :) again no curry :)

and no pricking the dough either!!!

i'm a gonna send yuh meh -Jamaican- recipe right now. I haven't even gotten around to posting it yet so feel special :D lol :D

burekaboy — said...

LOL hey mon sarina - you crack me up good, girl!!!

i guess things get changed when they transfer countries, mostly to either meet the local tastes, or availability of ingredients, of the new country. this is a popular recipe but i can't vouch for its validity as you can! so a big THANK YOU for that information. and i do feel VERY, VERY special i was sent sarina's special recipe! :) in my defense, that's not my foto!! and also, this is pretty much the way alot of the "jamaican patties" get sold here though i can't attest to authenticity in any way. i have to try your recipe and see the difference. they sound mighty fine. (as remember, i'm just a white jewish boy! LOL. what do i know?!) ;p thanks a ton for the information. happy 'all years day'!

Anonymous said...

all years day :D i like that one :D

hehe don't feel too bad, they does sell them things in the picture as patty here in Trinidad too in the frozen section... is a scam, they keepin' the good ones for themselves!! .. LOL ... my mother just walks away in disgust when she sees dem pretty yellow tings... lolz... patty is closer to a dark amber, burnt orange...

here is a pic of the real thing :) you can also see the horizontal grain clearly :D i like your recipe posts cos they have pictures. they make things so much clearer that just the directions don't convey, n'est-ce pas? :D

http://www.jamaicans.com/cooking/cakes/images/patty2.jpg

burekaboy — said...

isn't that what you say down there, "all years day"? maybe it's a "bajan" thing [according to a friend's word]. i like it, too, anyway ;p

LOL, that cracked me up with the image of your mother being disgusted by those fake ones. i can see her shaking her head and saying, "tsk, tsk, tsk". ;p

i never imagined the true one's dough having long horizontal strips (the ones i know of here are more "short" crusted) and being a burnt orange colour. i guess that's the anatto colouring or turmeric. anyhow, sounds real good to me :P very good!

thanks for the link for the photo. now i have some future homework (hehe and some gulab jamun to make, your way). oh sarina, you're going to add to my weight! :PPP and i even promised to be extra good this year ;D

Anonymous said...

hee bajan is the correct term :)

all years... hmm could you mean ole year's? it would sound like all year's with a bajan accent :P ... but ole year's means new year's eve :) ole year's day being the morn and ole year's night well the night heheh

is shortcrust like shortbread? a crumbly kinda thing? nah patty is flaky but not crumbly :) the strips I think are just part of the whole folding and rolling, like in a croissant.. yum :)

i suspect the more doughy pastry is less labor intensive and prob. cheaper ... but it ain't right lolz..

good description here: http://events.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/dining/reviews/19unde.html

oo look a recipe for veggie patty using gungo peas... that is the jamaican national pea :)

http://www.jamaicans.com/cooking/vegetables/gungopatty.shtml

OMG Juici has a website!! LOLZ!!

OK Juici is like the #1 patty house in Jamaica so check it :)
and you'll see again the horizontal grain in the pastry dough :) note also that the crimping, like in the previous pic is not a deep one...zz

http://www.juicipatties.com/gwContent.php?sectionid=a33&template=a1


hehe don't mention weight... Carnival is coming up!!!! :O
:O
:O !

Anonymous said...

finally!!

this is how it should flake and the color and such :D

http://images.ibsys.com/2003/0501/2171000.jpg

burekaboy — said...

see what you're teachin' me, sarina?! i think i opened a whole new can of gunga peas with that 'all years' comment! lol, had no idea about the new year's eve and day differences; guess i was writing what i heard! funny, anyway.

gonna check out all the stuff you said! i'm sure others reading will appreciate it also ;p

short crusted basically means a pastry type dough where the dough is not worked like, say, a bread dough. it leaves the pastry flaky and light (crumbly, too). this one i posted "don't got no foldin' or stretchin'" in it! but that would be half the fun, pulling the strips apart like spaghetti, as you say!

mwah! thanks for the info! :) now you made me real hungry.

Shelliza said...

looks goooood!. Reminds of the days when I went to high school in Toronto. I'd buy a Patty and Pop for for less than $2.

burekaboy — said...

hey shelliza - didn't know you went to school in canada! that's cool :) i used to go to toronto (markham), missisauga and brampton every summer. lots of guyanese in toronto and montreal.

we have plenty of places that sell those patties here. lol, sarina tells me this is a fake recipe!! i will try the one she sent me to compare the two.

Shelliza said...

Yep, I lived in Toronto (Scarborough) for almost 8 years. I moved to Florida 6 years ago. My parents recently bought a second home in Whitby so I'll be visiting quite often from now on.

burekaboy — said...

shelliza - never been to whitby, ont but heard lots about it.

enjoy your visits back to the GREAT WHITE (north) ;D