Jamaican beef patties are a real blending of cultures. Carribean flavours such as thyme and allspice marry together with British influences from Cornish pasties and curry powder. I've taken this theme a little further with the addition of diced potato but feel free to leave this out if you would rather have an authentic flavour.
This recipe uses a scotch bonnet chili which is very hot, but also quintessentially Caribbean in flavour. Feel free to reduce the amount but try to use at least a little to get the best flavour.
These Jamaican patties are so more-ish they can be eaten as a main or just as a snack on the go. They go with anything - I like to serve them with a lime coleslaw and either chips or rice.
Jamaican beef patties can also be frozen to be cooked later, so they are super convenient.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
Add the butter to the flour cutting it into small pieces. Using your thumb and fingers rub the butter in – don’t overwork the mix or allow the butter to become too warm. Uneven lumps of butter are fine.
Add water a little at a time and mix into the flour/butter mixture with your hands. The amount of water will vary depending on flour and humidity.
When the dough just forms a loose ball wrap in cling film and let rest in fridge for 30 minutes.
In a pan of water, boil the diced potato until tender. Drain and set aside.
Add 1 tbsp of vegetable oil to a frying pan and fry the onion on medium heat until softened.
Add the beef mince and fry breaking the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks. Fry for about 5 minutes or until the mince is cooked.
Add the garlic and scotch bonnet and fry for 2 minutes.
Add the thyme (remove the leaves from the stalk), 1 tsp of allspice and 1 tbsp of curry powder and fry for about 1 minute until the fragrance is released.
Stir in 1 tbsp of tomato paste and fry for 2 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry add a little water.
Add 1 tbsp of beef stock concentrate and salt and pepper to taste. Add the cooked potato and stir in being careful not to break up the potato too much. Cook for a further 3 minutes.
Take the filling mixture off the heat and stir in the spring onion.
Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC with fan.
Remove the dough from the fridge and roll it out to a thickness of about ½ cm.
Using a round cutter (or suitable-sized glass) cut 12cm circles.
Put 1-2 tablespoons of filling on one half of the dough circle.
Brush the edge with the beaten egg and fold the dough to create a half-moon shape. Crimp edges with a fork and pierce the top with a fork to allow the steam to escape.
Brush the top of each patty with a little egg.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with coleslaw, butternut squash and rice or chips.