Anytime you look in my mom’s freezer you will for sure find a ziploc bag full of these addictive little snacks! She always has a pack on hand ready for any snacking emergency!
Which also makes them perfect for iftar (breaking our fast) during Ramadan or when unexpected guests pop in (this is a thing again now, right?). These little flakey buttery puff pastry patties stuffed with a very simple meat filling that can be made beef or chicken are perfect for entertaining or just as a snack anytime.
The key is to use a store bought pre-rolled puff pastry crust. This makes quick work of making the patties. You can get fancy and use a cookie cutter to cut them into whatever shape you like, but my Mom is all about quick and easy and so she goes with the basic square folded over into a rectangle. It is quick and efficient and tastes just as good! What shape would you prefer?
I like to add some baby spinach leaves to the filling mixture to up the veg content. But feel free to skip that if you are not a fan.
Mom likes to serve this with her simple tamarind (imli) chutney or green chutney. But I am a fan of having these beef patties with plain old ketchup!
These beef patties are best served warm, but you can freeze the cooked patties and reheat them anytime in a toaster oven or in the oven and they get back their buttery flakey yumminess!
Mom’s Easy Beef Patties
Ingredients
For the Filling
- 1 lbs ground beef (or chicken)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 inch ginger, sliced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2-3 green chilli, diced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2-3 black peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
- chili flakes (optional – to taste)
- 1 handful baby spinach leaves (optional)
For the Patties
- 1 package pre-rolled frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (each package comes with 2 pastry sheets)
- 1 large egg, for egg wash
Instructions
- In a large saucepan add all the filling ingredients, except baby spinach. Cook on medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, stirring often, until the meat has browned and all the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the baby spinach leaves and stir to combine and wilt the spinach leaves. Taste and adjust salt and spice levels to your liking. Set aside to cool.
- Preheat oven to 400F (204C).
- Unroll the one thawed pastry sheet and cut into approximately 12 squares about 2-inch square in size.
- Add 1-2 tsp of the filling mixture into the pastry square – making sure to pick out the large pieces of ginger and peppercorns as you go. Fold over into a roll pinching the edges to seal the patty. (Feel free to make them any shape you like. But this is what my mom does, so that's what I like to do too!)
- Set aside on a parchment lined baking sheet and finish rolling all the patties. Make sure the patties are a few inches apart as they will expand when baked.
- Optional – for an even flakier patty, refrigerate the prepared patties for at least 30 mins to allow the butter in the puff pastry to firm up again. This will help get a much flakier crust when baked.
- Brush the patties with some egg wash and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.
- Serve immediately or allow to cool and freeze for later.
- When reheating – cook from frozen. Bake at 400F for 10-15 mins till warmed through. Serve warm.
