Jamaican Patties

Jamaican Patties

Bring a bit of sunshine to Derby with a taste of the Caribbean. This vegetarian snack is fantastic hot or cold.
For approximately 6 medium-sized patties or a 9inch traybake

Pastry
500g plain flour
125g Trex vegetable fat
125g Vegetable margarine
2 teaspoons turmeric
Cold water

Filling
300g potatoes
300g sweet potatoes (or equivalent if buying frozen ready prepared)
4 large carrots
1 white onion
(If you want to make life easier then supermarkets sell prepared veg usually called ‘chefs base’)
½ Shredded cabbage
2 cups of peas (fresh or frozen)
1 tin of coconut milk
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 tablespoon garlic puree
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon of cinnamon

For the filling:
Wash and 2cm cube the potatoes (no need to remove the skin) Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots and cube. Dice the onion. Put in a pan with the tin of full-fat coconut milk. Add the cabbage and the spices. Simmer on low.

For the pastry:
With cold hands, gently rub the fat into the flour till the mixture is light and crumbly. WEAR GLOVES if you don’t want yellow-stained hands. Add enough cold water till it clumps together like a dough. Cover and chill until your filling is ready.

When the veggies are soft but not mushy the liquid should have reduced to a gravy consistency. If it’s still a bit runny then stir in a teaspoon of cornflour dissolved in a small amount of water to thicken. Cook for a further 2 minutes stirring all the time. Remove from heat and stir in the peas. Allow to cool.

If making patties then roll out the cold pastry on a floured surface and cut around a sandwich plate to make even-sized discs. Add a blob of filling in the centre of each disc. Brush a little water around the rim of the pastry and carefully fold it over the filling. Press the edges together with your fingers to seal, then crimp the edge with the tines of a fork. Cut a little slit in the top of the patty for steam to escape. Place the patties on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment and refrigerate for half an hour.

If making an all-in-one tray bake then roll out the pastry and line your dish with it, add the filling and cover with the rest of the rolled-out pastry remembering to dampen your edges so
that it sticks. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Brush the tops of the chilled patties with a little dairy-free milk to glaze. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a mint yogurt dip of your favourite hot sauce.

Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days.

The filling is also delicious served with rice if you don’t want to faff with pastry!