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5 Jamaican treats to try out this weekend

Recipes by Nicholas Beckford, Chef, Ting Irie, Souk Al Manzil, MBR Boulevard Downtown

World-Famous Beef Patty Pastries
Prep time: 30 mins
Chill time: 24 hrs
Bake time: 25-35 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the filling:
1 medium onion, diced
½ tbsp Pimento powder
2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
4 sprigs thyme
450 gm ground beef
15 ml dark caramel
30 gm scallion, diced 30 ml soya sauce
15 ml oyster sauce
100 gm breadcrumbs
½ tbsp Scotch bonnet paste Pinch of black pepper
For the pastry:
200 gm beef suet
400 gm flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 large egg, whisked
150 ml icy water
15 ml vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp curry powder
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp yellow colouring
Method
For the filling, add onion, Pimento powder, garlic and thyme, and sweat for 3 minutes.
Add ground beef, and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add dark caramel, scallion, soya sauce, oyster sauce, breadcrumbs, Scotch bonnet, salt and pepper. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes, then cool and chill.
For the pastry, add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl and mix until it forms a dough.
Place the dough in a refrigerator to rest for 24 hours.
Roll out the dough to 1/8 inches thick and cut out 6-inch circular shapes from the dough.
Place 2 tbsp of the filling in each cutout, brush the dough with egg wash and fold the dough over in a half-moon shape; close edges with a fork to seal.
Set patties on a parchment-lined baking tray and bake until dough is golden brown (25-35 minutes) at 200°C.
Allow to rest for about five minutes before serving.

Ackee and Salt Fish
Prep time: 1 hr
Cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
30 ml corn oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
500 gm cod, salted
1 can Ackee
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tsp Scotch bonnet paste
Salt and pepper to taste
½ sweet plantain, roasted
For the Johnny cakes:
200 gm flour
200 ml water
½ tsp salt
15 gm baking powder
20 gm sugar
Method
In a sauté pan, add oil, onion, garlic and bell peppers.
Add salted fish and cook till tender, about 10 minutes.
Add Ackee, tomato, thyme and Scotch bonnet paste; stir gently then season with salt and pepper.
Slice plantains to ½ inch thick, add 1 tbsp of oil, toss together and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes at 200°C.
For Johnny cakes, combine flour, water, salt, baking powder and sugar in a mixing bowl. Mix together until it forms a dough. Divide into eight balls, fry the dumplings until golden brown, around 10 mins. Transfer to a kitchen towel and drain.
Serve Ackee and saltfish with roasted plantain and Johnny cakes on the side.

Spitfiyah Jerk Chicken
Prep time: 15 mins
Rest time: 24 hrs
Cook time: 1.5 hrs
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1.2 kg whole chicken
Cilantro, to garnish
For the jerk paste:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Pimento
3 sprigs of thyme
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 Scotch bonnet pepper
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp gm salt
1 medium white onion, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
For the mango salsa:
1 medium mango, cubed
1 small white onion, chopped
½ Scotch bonnet
15 ml olive oil
Pinch of sugar
15 ml vinegar
For the gravy:
½ L chicken stock
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small scallion, chopped
2 sprigs thyme
15 ml corn oil
30 gm flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
15 ml soy sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
Method
Combine the ingredients for the mango salsa and refrigerate until needed.
Mix all the ingredients for the jerk paste together, evenly coat the whole chicken and marinate for 24 hours. After marinating, place in a roasting tray and roast at 220°C for 1 hr 20 minutes, to ensure the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the juices run clear.
For the gravy, mix all the ingredients together and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer for an hour (add more flour if too thin). Strain any lumps/onions with a colander before serving.
Leave chicken to rest for 5 mins then serve with mango salsa and gravy, garnished with cilantro.

Oxtail Cocobun Sandwiches
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 3 hrs
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
For the filling:
15 ml corn oil
1 medium carrot, chopped 2 cloves garlic, diced
1 medium scallion, chopped 500 gm oxtail
15 ml ketchup 1 tsp brown sugar 15 ml soy sauce 200 ml water
For the cocobuns:
15 ml yeast
15 gm sugar
15 ml water
200 ml milk
1 tsp gm salt
200 gm flour
15 gm butter
For the coleslaw:
250 gm white cabbage, sliced
100 gm red cabbage, sliced
1 medium carrot, grated
2 tbsp mayo
1 tsp sugar
Method
Combine all ingredients for the coleslaw and set aside.
For the oxtail filling, add corn oil, carrot, garlic and scallion to a stock pot to sweat for 7 minutes.
Add oxtail, ketchup, brown sugar, soya sauce and water.
Cover and slow cook for two hours. (Alternatively, transfer to a slow cooker and leave on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.)
For the cocobuns, mix together yeast and sugar in water, then stir in milk and salt.
Add flour slowly, mixing continuously, until the dough can be turned out of the bowl. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Leave to rise for an hour in a warm place, in an oiled mixing bowl.
Divide into 12 portions, roll each to about 6 inches wide. Brush with melted butter and fold in half, brush and fold again. Set on a baking sheet and leave until the dough rises to double its size.
Preheat the oven to 210°C, and place a pan of hot water on the lowest shelf, bake the cocobuns on the top rack for around 12-15 mins or until golden brown.
To serve, cut cocobuns in half add a tbsp of coleslaw and oxtail.

Wash Off Yuh Hart
Prep time: 25 mins
Chill time: 2-3 hrs
Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the coconut mousse:
200 gm white chocolate
200 ml whipping cream
50 ml coconut purée
30 gm sugar
For the coconut sorbet:
400 ml coconut purée
60 gm sugar
15 ml vanilla essence
To garnish:
3 strawberries, diced
1 kiwi, sliced
½ mango, diced
Method
For the chocolate mould: melt the chocolate and place in a circular mould; chill in a refrigerator for one hour.
For the mousse: whip cream till it forms semi-stiff peaks. Meanwhile, add coconut purée and sugar to a stock pot and heat until the sugar dissolves (about 10 minutes). Let it cool slightly, before adding the whipped cream. Chill in the refrigerator for an hour. Once chilled, add the mixture to the chocolate mould and freeze for an hour.
Add all the ingredients for the sorbet to a saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Place in the freezer for 2 hours or until frozen.
Serve the mousse in the moulds, and frozen sorbet alongside. Garnish the plate with diced strawberries, kiwi and mango.