Jamaica - Beef Patty and Rice Porridge

This dish might be one of my absolute favourites that I have made for this project so far. Both the patties and the sweet rice porridge were incredibly delicious, and the patties turned out so well that once again, I could barely believe I had made them! They were also very well received at work, which was honestly pretty exciting for me.

The most satisfying part of making the patties for me was actually making the dough. I had never really considered before what makes the dough for Jamaican patties yellow, but was kind of excited to learn that it is simply turmeric and curry. The actual process for making them was very time consuming and quite similar to the pierogies and dumplings I had made previously. They were a little easier though in that the dough is much stronger and so they didn't fall apart quite as much. I had also expected the patties to be much spicier than they actually were, as they recipe called for a scotch bonnet pepper, which I had never used before, and so I had no frame of reference as to how hot it would be. In the end, there was only a bit of a nice kick, which really added to the delicious filling.

The sweet rice porridge was a very nice companion to the beef patties and was actually quite a bit more filling than I had expected it to be. In fact, it made a very nice breakfast dish, and it was quite tasty both hot and cold.

Overall, this meal was very delicious and lasted me several days which a great bonus as well. I was very happy with how these turned out, and I will certainly make them again.

FIRSTS THIS WEEK:

• Learned what a scotch bonnet pepper is
• Made pastry

RECIPES I USED:

• Patties: http://jamaicans.com/simple-jamaican-beef-patty-recipe/
• Porridge: http://jamaicans.com/jamaican-rice-porridge-jamaican-recipes/