Lamb Patés

1. For dough: In a bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and 1 tsp. salt. Add butter cubes and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly with no large pieces of butter. Add the honey.

2. Add ¾ cup room temperature water to the bowl in a steady stream, using a spoon to mix the flour and turning it over on itself until the mixture becomes a craggy dough. If it seems too dry, add an additional ¼ cup water and stir until the mixture holds together.

3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 5 minutes until dough is a smooth ball that springs back when pushed. Let dough rest, covered with a kitchen towel or damp paper towel, 30 minutes.

4. While dough is resting, make the filling: In a medium saucepan heat 3 Tbsp. olive oil over medium. Once shimmering, add onion and sauté until translucent. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 3 minutes until fragrant. Add lamb to the saucepan and brown with the aromatics, using a wooden spoon to break apart large pieces. Sprinkle with Creole seasoning and turmeric; stir and cook 5 minutes to let the spices bloom.

5. Add thyme sprigs and tomato paste; stir to coat meat. Add 1 tsp. Caribbean hot sauce (if using), Scotch bonnet, and ½ cup water. Let simmer 10 minutes over medium until most of the water has evaporated. (If you want lots of heat, break open the pepper while it stews.)

6. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and ground black pepper. Remove Scotch bonnet and thyme sprigs; let mixture cool 15 minutes.

7. To assemble, cut dough into eight pieces. On a floured surface, roll one portion of dough into an oval, about 8½x6 inches.

8. Spoon approximately 2½ Tbsp. of the lamb filling onto the rolled dough. Using a pastry brush dipped in water, dampen the bottom edge of the oval. Fold top half down to align with bottom edge. Use a fork to press the two edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

9. In a heavy Dutch oven heat 2 inches of vegetable oil over medium until a bit of flour dropped into the oil bubbles. Carefully add one paté into the oil, flat side down. Add another paté once the first one is floating. Fry 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Using tongs, carefully flip and fry 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from oil and let drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.

10. Repeat with remaining patés. Serve immediately or let cool and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, bake 20 minutes at 400°F. Serve with Caribbean hot sauce. Makes 8 patés.

Tips

Cooked patés can be frozen then easily reheated in the oven.Cook only two patés at a time so the oil doesn't dip in temperature. Crowding the pot can yield patés that are greasy, not crisp.