Suriname |Pastei

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE I USED.

Suriname is a small developing country in South America with a cuisine that has been influenced by just about everyone and I found a few options that were interesting.

I opted to make Pastei because it was different than anything I’d made in recent memory. And it included making a pie crust, which is something I haven’t done in about 20 years and I was curious how it would turn out.

Pastei is similar to chicken pot pie in that it is made up of chicken and vegetables served in a pie crust but it is not loaded with gravy and it includes cornichons, cocktail onions, and capers. Or at least this recipe includes those, there is a bit of variety in what home cooks put in the pastei. I’d eaten cornichons before but this was my first time trying capers.

The filling also included peas, carrots, onions, tomato paste, and chicken, seasoned with bouillon. I was unable to find the exact bouillon the recipe recommended but used the Knorr brand I had in the pantry and it tasted great!

The end result was good! The crust turned out well but I probably should have rolled the bottom crust out a little bit thinner. It wasn’t bad, just a tiny bit thicker than necessary. The filling had a lovely tanginess from the cornichons, cocktail onions, and capers that I really enjoyed. It has a very different flavor profile from the pot pies we eat here but is still quite good! I’m definitely going to try capers in more things!

Would I make this again? Honestly, I don’t know.

I like it but it’s a lot of food for one person to get through in a reasonable amount of time. I’m going to freeze a portion and see how it handles being reheated from frozen. I also made a floury mess rolling out the crust which I didn’t love but that’s on me and not the Pastei’s fault, I do not seem to be able to use flour without getting it everywhere.

I would eat it again I just don’t know if I’d cook it (make a mess in the kitchen) again.