Pastry Gate (Bacalhãu and Ackee Munchkins)

Bacalhãu and Ackee Munchkins (Serves 4 but also 1 if you’re celebrating life)

Prep Time: 2.5 Hours (Hello Spotify?) Cooking Time: 40-45 Minutes

Ingredients:

250g bacalhãu (preferably from a Portuguese store but alternatively, regular salted cod/saltfish are substitutes that can be found in most grocery stores) 340g drained canned ackee (word on road is that Dunn’s River is the best) 125ml soya single cream (use double cream if preferred) 320g puff pastry (try with 320g of shortcrust too! :P) 1 chopped medium tomato 1 medium onion ½ scotch bonnet ½ shrimp stock cube 1 crushed clove of garlic 1 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley 1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves 1 egg, beaten ¼ tsp. ground black pepper ¼ tsp. salt 1 tbsp. olive oil

Method:

BACALHÃU PREP Overnight method- Soak overnight then debone and shred finely Same day method-Boil for 20 minutes, leave to cool then debone and shred finely

1. Blend onions, parsley, thyme, garlic, scotch bonnet and shrimp stock cube into a paste before frying in olive oil for 3 minutes. If you don’t have a blender, make sure all ingredients are finely chopped and mixed together into a paste.
2. Add tomatoes to mixture and cook for 2-3 minutes. With the back of your mixing spoon, crush the tomatoes so that they become pasty. Add 1tbsp. of water and stir non-stop for 3 minutes on minimum heat.
3. Place bacalhãu in pan, stir into mixture and cook for 5 minutes before adding soy single cream. Stir once more and leave to cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. Add ackee to pan but do not stir it in, otherwise this will break up the ackee way too much, but gently shake the pan so that it kind of collapses into the mixture. Leave to cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to gas mark 6. Then, roll out your pastry and cut into circular shapes (i did it with a container, but choose something with a sharp edge so it cuts it well and not bluntly). Remove filling from hob and using a teaspoon, spoon the mixture into the centre of the pastry. 6. Fold in half, and gently press the edges close with your fingers. If you are working with shortcrust pastry, make sure you use a fork and gently press down on the edges to seal them. If working with puff, then you can skip using the fork because it seals easier :).
6. Brush beaten egg on the top side of them, making sure you don’t bathe them in egg but just give them a gentle wash.
7. Place them in the oven for 20 minutes and voila! Munchkin magic

For more tips please visit www.jalvez.co.uk 🙂

bon appetit