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Virgin Islands Pates

Virgin Islands Pates is a traditional British Virgin Islands recipe for a classic dish of fried pasties with a spicy beef filling, the national dish of the Virgin Islands. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British Virgin Islands version of: Virgin Islands Pates.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

35 minutes

Total Time:

55 minutes

Additional Time:

(+1 hour resting)

Serves:

6

Rating: 4.5 star rating

Tags : Spice RecipesHerb RecipesBeef RecipesVegetable RecipesBritish-virgin-islands Recipes

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Ingredients:

For the Pastry:
500g plain flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
100g lard (or shortening), cold
250ml cold water, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

For the Filling:
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp tomato purée
½ scotch bonnet chilli, minced
500g lean minced beef

1l oil, for frying

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Add the cold lard (or vegetable shortening) and water, and mix until evenly incorporated, but still crumbly.

Transfer the dough onto a work surface and knead until the mixture just comes together, about 1 minute.

Wrap the dough in clingfilm (plastic wrap), and let it rest for an hour at room temperature.

Place a heavy-based frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp oil and use to fry the onion, bell peppers, celery, garlic, salt, pepper, dried oregano, dried parsley, dried thyme, and the scotch bonnet chilli until all the vegetables are soft and slightly caramelized (about 10 minutes).

Add the tomato purée and cook until aromatic and slightly caramelized (about 5 minutes).

Add the minced beef, cooking until the meat is browned (about 15 minutes). At this point take off the heat and set aside.

Unwrap the rested dough and roll it out on a work surface until 3mm thick. Using an inverted 15-cm wide bowl, cut out circles of the dough to set aside. Remove the excess pastry scraps and re-roll it to cut out more dough circles.

Take a dough circle and place 120ml (about 110g) of filling into the centre of the circle, leaving about 3cm of uncovered space around the edges.

Dip your finger in water and brush the edge of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling to meet the opposite side, forming a half-moon, and press the dough ends together. Firmly press down the two edges to become seal, and decorate the new crust with the tines of a fork. Make sure the pastry is completely sealed all the way around.

Pre-heat the oil in a deep fryer, wok or large pot over high heat to 180°C.

Place the pates into the heated deep fryer, one at a time, for about 5 minutes or until they puff up and the outside turns golden brown. Remove from the fryer and let them drain on a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate.

Serve warm.