A
s the world become a little more
health conscience, we can be
grateful that we have chefs like Bryant Terry, Author of the revitalizing cook book Afro Vegan: FarmFresh African, Caribbean & Southern
Flavors Remixed. Bryant says in his
book that “ A large part of my mission in writing Afro-Vegan is to move
Afro-diasporic food from the margins
closer to the center of our collective
culinary consciousness and to put its
ingredients, cooking techniques and
flavor profile into wider circulation.”
Afro-Vegan pages are filled with soulful flavors and culturalistic swag. Here
is a recipe of what you can discover in
the tasty hardback
Jamaican Patties Stuffed with Maque
Choux
Pastry
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour,
chilled
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour,
chilled
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups coconut oil, chilled
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon plus ¾ teaspoon ice
water
Filling
2 teaspoons coconut oil
½ cup finely diced red onion
¼ cup finely diced green bell pepper
½ teaspoon minced seeded habanero
pepper
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and
ground
½ teaspoon allspice berries, toasted
and ground
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1¼ cups sweet corn kernels (from
about 2 ears of corn; store the cobs in
the freezer to make Corn Broth)
½ cup peeled, seeded, and
finely diced firm heirloom
tomato
¾ cup coconut milk
½ teaspoon freshly
squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon minced fresh
thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
To make the pastry, put the
flours, turmeric, and salt in
a large bowl and mix well.
Add the coconut oil and
rub with your fingertips
until the mixture resembles
fine sand; this could take as
long as 10 minutes.
Stir the vinegar and water together. Then, without overworking the
dough, add the vinegar mixture, 1
tablespoon at a time while stirring.
As soon as the dough comes away
from the sides of the bowl and holds
together, squeeze it into a tight ball.
Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic
wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, at
least 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Warm
the oil in a medium sauté pan over
medium heat. Add the onion, bell
pepper, habanero, salt, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, and cayenne and
sauté until the onion and bell pepper
are very soft, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in
the corn, tomato, and coconut milk.
Decrease the heat to low, partially
cover, and cook, stirring occasionally,
until the corn is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the limejuice and thyme
and cook until warmed through, 2 to
3 minutes. Season with black pepper
and, if desired, more salt.
To assemble and bake the patties, remove the dough from the refrigerator
to warm slightly.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a bak