Its all about the dough.
As any good mother wants to do, I want to impress my child. My daughter Emily a middle child and the girl with three brothers, loves her Musical'ly app, trap music, Justin Bieber, blue nail polish, and most of all, Haitian patè. At the ripe age of twelve, she is hard to impress. The fact that I have 2 Chainz, Drake, Riri and Future on my playlist is not impressive to her. Neither is she impressed in my expensive taste with, well, basically anything from food to clothes; this is from a person who will order chicken fingers from a 5 star restaurant, but I digress. The only thing I have done that impresses her is make her favorite Haitian delicacy, patè. For so many years the flakiness of a good patè dough eluded me. I could not stand it. Patè, pronounced {pa-tay}; is a staple of a good Haitian upbringing, I’m just saying.
If you are Haitian or have ever been to a Haitian reception during your time on this earth, you have been offered, and or eaten a patè. Just like anything else in this world you have some good ones and you have some bad ones. Patè, is a Haitian pastry, that is similar to a patty, defined by its golden flaky buttery melt upon contact with your tongue crust and the small seasoned morsel of meat or fish that fills its inner pocket. Now, there are some who will tell you to skip the dumb shit, and buy a box of puff pastry sheets from the grocery and call it a day. Yes, you could do that but, I’m one of those folks who enjoys authenticity and especially the kind you can taste. I wont be intimidated by the notion that making it from scratch is waste of time. In a world that moves so fast, the one thing i cherish is time doing something I love and the fruit of that labor making someone smile.
First things first. Im not a guru on all things Haitian, not yet at least. My way is not the gospeI, I’m still learning. If at first you do not succeed, try again. I won’t tell you how many times I’ve tried and failed, but suffice it to say that many batches have been dumped and I had to teach myself that “this sucks” is constructive criticism when it comes from another adult. If you follow the steps I’m laying out for you, you will have a good results. I have tested this method and recipe fifty plus times. I think I can do it in my sleep. Read the recipe and take a look at the pictures before you start. The ingredients are one thing but the method is key. Food prep is key! Having everything ready for use nearby will save you some time and energy. So, as my brother in law, Marvin, who happens to be born and raised in Jamaica religioulsy says “An alè ayisyen!” (Lets go Haitian)literally.
Patè Feuilleté
This recipe yields about 12 patties. If you want you can double the amount by making minis during the fill and seal process)😉
Dough
½ cup of frozen butter (1stick) chopped into small chips
3 cups of all purpose flour
½ teaspoon of salt
1 cup of Ice Cold water
3/4 cup of Lard ( For my vegetarians...Shortening is an acceptable substitute as well)
Chicken filling
1 poached chicken breast
1 Shallot roughly chopped
2-3 sprigs of parsley
1 garlic clove
½ tsp of salt
*hot ketchup(optional) I use 1 tsp
Egg Wash
1 Egg Yolk
¼ tsp salt
2tsp milk
Mix all these ingredients together with a whisk and set aside in refrigerator until patè are ready for baking.
Tools you would find useful in making this
Food Processor or mixer using dough hook
Rolling pin
Offset spatula
plastic wrap
½ sheet baking pan
parchment paper
A ruler
**When rolling out dough make sure to do it on a cool surface. It makes dough more manageable)**
Add butter,flour and salt into food processor using dough blade, with cover on, pulse about 6 times to ensure mixture is combined. The dough should have a mealy consistency.
With the processor on low slowly add the ice water,¼ cup at a time.
The mixture should start to form a ball that is now hitting the sides
Stop the processor and remove the dough ball and place in a bowl, cover with plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
Remove dough from refrigerator and place onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll dough out into a 16x16 inch square.
Smear ¼ cup of lard across dough using an offset spatula or better yet, your fingers.( I feel like I cover more surface area with my hands😜).
Fold right edge of square to the center of square. Now make the left side cover to the edge of right corner.
Spread remaining lard over new rectangle and fold bottom section up to half and than fold top part over bottom half.
( One edge over the other)
You have completed your first turn. I like to put a thumbprint on the upper right hand corner to signify how many folds I have completed. So for the second fold use thumbprints and so on. All in all, I like to do three. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to chill.
Remove dough from the fridge. Place dough with long side facing left and short side facing you. (like your cell phone in normal position) Roll the dough out to the same a 16x16 in. square, repeating the same above process twice more for a total of three turns. After dough has had its third turn it is now ready to be filled and formed.
Now would be the time to have your prepared filling set up. For this recipe I am using the chicken filling. If you have a different preference use it, its your patè so have fun.
Add all the ingredients into your food processor with the cutting blade. If you do not have a food processor you can use your blender too.
Blend the ingredients using the low cycle for about 25 seconds or until you achieve your preferred consistency. If it appears to dry for you, add some chicken stock or water 1 tbsp at a time, until you get it how you like. *Note: If its too wet it will weigh down your dough so pay close attention.
Now the dough can be filled.
Cut dough in half. Keep one half and place the other in refrigerator.
In a half sheet baking pan, lay a 16x12 inch sheet of parchment paper.
On a floured surface roll out ½ of dough to 16x12 in. rectangle and lay over parchment paper in sheet pan.
Visually divide dough into 3 rows and 4 columns and drop a tablespoon of filling in the centers. ( roughly about every 2-3 inches apart)
Remove 2nd half of dough from refrigerator and on floured surface roll out to 16x12 rectangle. Carefully place dough over sheet pan with filling.
Press all the edges down to form a seal and then with a pastry cutter or sharp knife cut our 12 squares around the filled pockets.
Before placing Patè in the oven brush them with an egg wash solution and place in the oven to bake at 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
End results.........
It took me a few tries to get this result successfully when I started making these so don't give up if they don't come out the way you want. If you are up to it fowl free to contact me and I am happy to help you and answer any questions you have. Just email me! Have fun!