Jamaican Style Vegan Ackee Patties

Jamaican patties are a Caribbean pastry filled with different choices of fillings and spices, baked inside of a flaky golden shell. It is something similar to a turnover, but with more savory flavors. As the name suggests, it is often found in Jamaica, but may also be found in other areas of the Caribbean.

These patties are often found to be filled with meat (beef, pork, or chicken), but did you know there are vegan filling options as well? Ackee, callaloo, and seasoned vegetables are some of the alternative options for this delectable treat. 

Today, we choose -- ACKEE, a fruit native of West Africa but is especially prominent in Jamaican cuisine, being that it is the country's national fruit. Ackee is full of nutritional value, with the consistency of an overcooked egg, but with absolutely no cholesterol or saturated fat. 3.5 ounces of Ackee carries 151 calories,  9.5 g of carbohydrates and a protein content that ranges from 2.9 g to 8.9.  The main vitamin in ackee is niacin (important for the reduction of blood cholesterol), but it also has a plentiful amount of vitamin C, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, sodium and trace amounts of folacin, riboflavin, and thiamine. 

Even though fresh ackee fruit serves plenty of nutrition, it is important to handle and pick this fruit carefully. If this fruit is picked and prepared before it is ripened (open) then this can expose you to a toxic poison. For this reason, it is best to consult a native Jamaican or anyone familiar with the preparation of this fruit (or google) , before preparing. If not, just pick up a can of ackee from the ethnic aisle in your local grocery store.

Below are the instructions on how to prepare your ackee patty.

READY IN: 40-45 minutes

Pastry Dough Ingredients

• 3 cups of All Purpose Flour

• 1 cup of Spelt Flour

• 1 tbsp of Seasoned Salt (salt, pepper,paprika,onion powder, garlic powder, & cayenne)

• 1 and 1/2 tsp of Turmeric

• 1 cup of water 

• 8 ounces of vegetable shortening (optional, if you want your pastry flaky)

Pastry Filling Ingredients

• 1 can (3.5 ounces) of Grace Ackee or 1cup of fresh ackee fruit

• 1 tbsp of Seasoned Salt (salt, pepper,paprika,onion powder, garlic powder, & cayenne)

• 1 Bell Pepper (I used 1/2 Red and 1/2 Yellow Pepper)

• 1/3 cup 0f Pickled Jalapeno (or your choice of any other hot pepper)

• 1 tbsp of Thyme

• 1 tbsp of Parsley

• 1 1/2 tsp of Dill

• 1 Scallion ( Finely Chopped)

Note: you can add or omit any season, herb, or vegetable as you please. 

Directions

Make the Pastry Dough

• In a large bowl, dump the flour, seasoned salt, and turmeric and mix evenly.

• For flaky patty, drop small pieces of the shortening into flour until there are little clumps of flour covered shortening scattered around.

• Pour in 1/2 a cup of water and gently knead mix. Add small amounts of water at a time until the mixture forms a dough ball.

• When finished kneading, split the dough ball into two separate balls then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes before using it.

Make the Filling

• Pour (your choice of) oil into a skillet, and bring heat to a medium temperature.

• Once skillet is hot enough, Add scallion and bell pepper and sauté until scallion is translucent. Then add jalapeno, parsley, dill, and thyme and continue to sauté for another minute or two then add seasoned salt.

• Turn the heat to a simmer and add the ackee. ( You should only allow the ackee to cook for a few minutes if it is from the can).

• Turn off heat and allow ackee filling to cool.

Note: depending on whether or not you have fresh ackee or canned ackee these directions will be a little different, but we are preparing ackee from the can. 

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Ready the Pastries

• Take the dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit for 5 minutes before rolling. Flour the work surface and rolling pin.

• Tear small pieces of dough at a time from one of the large balls of dough and roll it out into a flat circle. 

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• Depending on the size of your dough, you will place about 1-3 tablespoons of the filling onto half of each dough circle. Dip a finger into the water and moisten the edges of the pastry.

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• Then fold over the other half of the dough circle and press out as much air as possible, then gently seal the edges together. 

• If desired, take a fork and press along the edges to make a nice design and ensure closure of the patty. Then you can prick the top of the patty with a fork in order to allow steam to escape.

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Bake the Pastries

• Place pastry on a parchment-lined baking sheet and continue to repeat the above steps until you have rolled all the dough and filled the patties. To ensure quality, preheat oven to 325 F and allow patties to cool again before placing into the oven.

• Once the oven is warm enough, place patties in and let bake for 15 to 20 minutes and rotate them halfway through. Bake until golden brown.

• Once finished let patties settle for a couple of minutes. If patties have ballooned, press gently to allow some of the steam to escape. Serve warm and enjoy. 

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Recipe inspired by the spruce and amazing ackee