Ital Jamaican Veggie Patties

Seriously a comfort food! Since this process takes a couple hours I make these when I am not in a hurry:-) I TRIPLE THIS RECIPE and freeze some of the assembled unbaked patties to have for easy dinners later:-) Ital patties are so delicious and can be eaten warm or at room temp!

INGREDIENTS:
Pastry:
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup chilled coconut oil
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup 1/4-inch-diced yellow onion
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
Coarse sea salt
2 larges cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup 1/4-inch-diced carrots
1/4 cup 1/4-inch-diced yellow potatoes
1/2 cup fresh green peas (or frozen)
1/2 cup sweet fresh corn (or frozen)
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Instructions:
First make the pastry dough to cool in the fridge while you make the filling.

For the pastry: Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour with the pastry flour, turmeric, and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Set the remaining 1/4 cup flour aside. Add the coconut oil to the flour mixture and rub with your fingertip until the mixture resembles fine sand(about 10 minutes)

Combine the vinegar and water and mix well. Then, without overworking the dough, add the vinegar mixture by the tablespoon, while stirring, just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl and begins to coalesce. Squeeze into a tight ball, flatten, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Now make your filling: the ingredients are flexible, this is a general recipe that you can adjust as you like. You can skip all the different herbs and spices and add a generous amount of a curry or jerk blend if you prefer.

For the filling: In a medium-size saute pan over medium-low heat, combine the coconut oil, the onion, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, carrots, and potatoes, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the carrots and potatoes are tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in the green peas, corn, cabbage, thyme, and lemon juice, cover, and cook for 3 minutes more. Season with additional salt and the pepper (or to taste) and set aside to allow the flavors to marry.

When you are ready to assemble patties:
Preheat the oven to 350F and remove the dough from the refrigerator.

With the reserved flour, lightly dust a clean surface, roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut six 6-inch circles from the dough (you can use a bowl). Spoon 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling onto the center of one side of each circle, leaving about a 1/8-inch border. Fold the other half over to make a half-moon, press to seal, and make ridges around the edge using a fork. (note: if your dough is at all on the dry side you may need to run wet fingers around the edge of the circles to help get a good seal).

If you have tripled the recipe and decided to freeze some patties now is the time to spread the ones you are not baking on a cookie sheet, do not allow them to touch. Freeze for a couple hours, then wrap each in plastic wrap and the bunch in freezer paper to save for later. Keep frozen until you are ready to bake.

When you are ready to bake; Transfer the patties to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Serve immediately with some hot sauce.

Makes six big patties, or a couple dozen smaller ones.