SURINAME: Pastei Chicken Pie

With no roux, minimal dairy, and the use of a variety of pickled vegetables, Pastei is a lighter and zippier version of the chicken pot pies commonly found in the U.S. This chicken pie was delicious when served, but equally good in leftover format straight from the fridge! Using store-bought puff pastry and rotisserie chicken allowed this dish to come together in less than 20 minutes of active cooking time.

Pastei Chicken Pie

3 eggs

1 breast and 2 legs and thighs from a medium rotisserie chicken or 3 large pieces cooked chicken (thigh, breast, or mix of both)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine (more traditional in the pie)

1 small onion chopped

1 clove garlic chopped

1 pimento or cherry pepper

2 medium tomatoes, such as Roma or on-the-vine

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 Maggi® chicken bouillon cube

1 small bag mixed frozen peas and carrots

3 dill onions

¼ cup cocktail onions, drained

1 tablespoon capers, drained

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed (I used Schär)

1. Hard boil 2 of the 3 eggs.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 °F grease a 10 x 7-inch roasting pan.

3. Remove skin and bones from the chicken pieces and, using a fork and knife, shred into small bite-size pieces.

4. Heat a heavy-bottomed sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the butter or margarine. Chop onions and garlic. Add the onions to the butter and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Chop the peppers and tomatoes, into small dice and add to the mixture. Cook until tomatoes lose their color and start to break down, about 5 more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then crush the Maggi cube over top and mix, cooking another minute or two, until mixture darkens slightly.

5. Finely chop 1 dill pickle, the cocktail onions, and capers. Add the onion-caper-pickle mixture and the frozen peas and carrot to the pan. Remove from heat and stir in the chicken.

6. Slice the 2 hardboiled eggs and 2 remaining dill pickles thinly.

7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 sheet of the pastry into a large rectangle (large enough to line the bottom and sides of the roasting pan) about ¼-inch thick. Ease the dough into the pan and prick the bottom with a fork.

8. Add the filling to the prepared tin and lay the sliced eggs and pickles over the mixture. Roll out the rest of the pastry and lay it over the top. Trim the edges of both the top and bottom dough to be just slightly larger than the pan Tuck the edges under themselves and crimp with a fork. Beat remaining egg. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg and cut a couple of slits in the top of the pastei for steam to escape.

9. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pastei is golden brown. Let cool for about 30 minutes. Serve with or by itself.

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FUN FACTS:

• Suriname has won only two Olympic medals ever — one gold and one bronze — both won by swimmer Anthony Nesty. 

• There is only one operating cinema in all of Suriname.

• Dutch is the sole official language of Suriname, as the country was a Dutch colony from 1667 to 1975.