A few weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in a good friend’s socially distanced wedding, and in preparation for the big day, I did something I have never done before: get a manicure.
I opted for French tips—a layer of very light pink on the bottom and white for the ends of each nail. It ended up being a pretty decent experience, and I especially appreciated the level of cleanliness and mask wearing the nail salon used.
So, for the last few weeks, I’ve had fancy fingernails, something that’s definitely different for me. I’ve also been amazed at how well they’ve held up. Well, that is until this week’s recipe, when I gave them the ultimate test: exposure to turmeric.
I don’t know what the name for a manicure with light pink on the bottom and orange-ish yellow on the tips is, but I’m sure it isn’t French.
The good news? This recipe was so worth it.
This comes from the blog “Host the Toast.” You can find this recipe at https://hostthetoast.com/3-bite-jamaican-beef-patties/. I didn’t change much outside of using heaping spoonfuls of the listed spices.
Jamaican Beef Patties
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 2 green onion stalks chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 Scotch bonnet pepper or habenero pepper finely chopped
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 rounded teaspoons thyme
- 1 rounded teaspoon all spice
- 1 rounded teaspoon curry powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Set the puff pastry out about an hour before you’ll need it to let it thaw.
- In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the onions and pepper until everything is soft and cooked through.
- Add the beef, thyme, all spice, curry powder, salt and pepper, stirring regularly until the beef is cooked through. If there is excess fat in the pan, drain it off before the next step.
- Mix in the breadcrumbs and then pour in the beef stock. Mix to combine thoroughly. If the mixture is very wet, add more breadcrumbs, and if it is very dry, add a little more beef stock or water. The goal is for the mixture to hold together well but still be moist. Remove the beef mixture from the heat and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and prepare a muffin tin by spraying it with cooking spray.
- Place the pastry sheet on a floured surface and roll it out to expand it by a couple inches on all sides. Sprinkle the entire sheet with turmeric and rub the turmeric around on the sheet to get a good coating.
- Cut the sheet into 12 even pieces, and place the pieces, turmeric side down, into the muffin cups. You’ll want to make sure there is some dough hanging over the edge of each cup so you can pull it around the filling and seal it.
- Divide the meat evenly into each cup, and then seal each one by pulling the sides of the dough up and pinching them together. If it is not sticking well, try using a little water along the seams.
- Flip the sealed beef patty over so the seam is on the bottom.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the beef patties are golden brown.
I actually opted for two habenero peppers for my version, because the ones at my local grocery store were so small, and they were a perfect amount of heat.
We loved these, and the spice combination was fantastic. To go along with our Jamaican beef patties, I decided to slice up a ripe plantain, fry it in some oil and sprinkle it with salt. It was fantastic.
So, my days of fancy nails are over, I’m afraid, although it’s a slow process for me to figure out how one removes gel nail polish, which is apparently much different than the polish I grew up with.
But at least while one set of fingers soaks in acetone, the other can be holding onto a delicious treat.
This piece first appeared in print on July 9, 2020.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
