Vegan Jamaican Beef Patty

Ingredients Pastry: 4 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour ½ cup vegetable shortening (make sure it’s vegan) ½ cup vegan butter, cold ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons ice cold water 1 ½ Tbsp turmeric 1 Tbsp salt Vegan Beef Filling: 1 large onion, finely chopped (1½ cups chopped) 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped 1 pound vegan ground beef substitute 2 Tbsp vegan butter ¼ tsp turmeric 1 ½ tsp ground cumin ¾ tsp ground allspice ½ tsp ground cardamom 1 tsp thyme 3 green onion/scallions, finely chopped 1 scotch bonnet pepper, seeded and finely chopped (optional) 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley 2 Tbsp vegan worcestershire sauce 1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped 1½ tsp salt Freshly ground black pepper ¾ cup vegetable stock 3 tablespoons Jamaican rum almond milk or soy milk for brushing Instructions Pastry: Sift the flour, turmeric, and salt into a large bowl. I used my stand mixer and the whisk blade. Using two knives, a pastry blender, or in my case my pastry blade, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture becomes crumbly. Working quickly, add small amounts of water to form a firm dough. Do not over water or overwork. Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1½ hours or overnight. Beef Filling In a large skillet, heat butter until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the veggie ground beef, turmeric, cumin, allspice, cardamom, scotch peppers, and thyme and cook until heated and spices are fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the green onion/scallions, parsley, tomatoes, and vegetable stock and simmer for about 30 minutes, until most all of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in the Jamaican rum. Allow the mixture to cool before assembling the patties. Assembly: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry dough and cut into circles about 6 to 7 inches in diameter. I used a large cereal bowl for this. Lightly brush the outside edges of the circle with a little of soy or almond milk. Spoon roughly a ¼ cup of the vegan beef filling onto one half of the circle, and fold the other half of the pastry over so that the edges meet. Press to seal, and use a fork to crimp the edges together. Lightly brush the top of each patty with a little of soy milk. Place the patties on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately with hot sauce.