Green Bean Jamaican Patties

Today I have some wonderful news to share with you all. I moved to Jamaica. It’s surreal! The people (that I have met so far!) are wonderful and welcoming. I am telling you this because some of you have been there from the birth of this blog and most of you have joined the family over time. I am truly grateful for you. Currently I am enjoying all the local and exotic (to me) food of Jamaica and I will be sharing my experiences with you over time. If you want to see interesting behind the scenes ( trips, cooking demos, fun discoveries, and everything else) follow me on Instagram (@akitcheninuganda). Also you can join the community monthly newsletter (Link is in the sidebar of this blog) so that you can get first hand information from me.

I love cooking with fresh produce and whenever I can find it, I don’t take it lightly. These past few weeks we have been blessed with rain. A. LOT. OF. RAIN! We have been harvesting a lot of green vegetables. Yes I am in vegetable bliss! One of the foods I have been able to make are these Jamaican patties. Patty is a Jamaican food that is similar to empanadas or hand pies. It usually has a juicy meaty filling and a flaky pastry shell. Because I had harvested a lot of green beans, we made patties. The patties are vegetarian because half of the filling is finely diced green beans and the other half is dehydrated minced soy meat. If you are not vegetarian, you can substitute the soy meat with ground meat.

What you will need:

Filling

2 C. Green beans, finely diced

1 C, Ground meat

1/2 C. Carrot, finely diced

1 Large onion, finely chopped

1 Tsp. Garlic, finely chopped

2 Tsp. Ginger, grated

1 Tsp. Soy sauce

Black pepper

Salt

Pastry

2 C. Baking flour

8 Tbsp. Butter/Margarine

1/2 C. Water

Oil for frying

Method

Pastry:

In a dish, combine flour with butter/margarine. Keep mixing until the mixture becomes crumbly. Next, add water. A tablespoon at a time while mixing until you form a firm dough. Knead for 30 seconds till the dough becomes smooth. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Filling:

Place pan on high heat. Add oil. Add garlic and ginger and let it release an aroma. Add the onions and let them cook till translucent. Add the green beans and let then cook till they turn a bright green color. Next add the ground meat and carrots. stir well to let the flavors incorporate. Add salt pepper and soy sauce. Let the filling cook on low fire for about 10 minutes. Remove from fire and set aside to cool.

Assembling the patties:

Get the dough and divide it into 12 small balls.Roll out each ball till a thin circle is formed. Using a spoon, fill half of the circle with the filling. Cover the remaining half of the dough on top of the filling and twist (crimping) both edges shut to avoid the filling from spilling out. Repeat process till all the pastry circles are done.

Frying:

Place pan on high heat. Add enough oil to submerge the patties. Wait for the oil to get hot. Add your patties and let then fry till golden brown. This will take up to 30 seconds for each patty.Remove the patties from the oil and drain them on either paper towels or a newspaper. Serve warm.