Haiti's beloved street-food pastry: a golden, deep-fried turnover with a crisp, slightly bread-like crust wrapped around a spiced filling of ground beef, salted cod, smoked herring or chicken. Bought hot from roadside fritay stands and eaten with a fierce dab of pikliz.
The pate reflects Haiti's French colonial pastry heritage reworked with Creole seasonings and tropical fillings, with the kòde being the deep-fried fritay version sold on the street. It became the quintessential grab-and-go snack of Port-au-Prince street corners, sold by the dozen at funerals, parties and ordinary mornings alike.
The crust crackles and shatters the moment you bite, giving way to a warmly spiced, savory filling. Eaten with pikliz, the cool crunch and chili heat cut the fried richness perfectly.
Deep frying flash-cooks the dough's surface so trapped moisture turns to steam, puffing and crisping the crust, while the dry-cooked filling keeps the interior from steaming the pastry soggy from within.
Variations
fillings of smoked herring (aranso), chicken, salted cod (morue), or ground turkey; some shaped as triangles
On the Palate
Where Pate Kode Haitian sits in the Haitian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
8 steps · 30 min active · 60 min waiting
- 115 min
Make a dough of flour, butter, salt and water, then rest it chilled to relax the gluten.
- 220 min
Saute ground beef (or flaked salt cod) with epis, onion, garlic and tomato paste until cooked and dry.
- 315 min
Roll the dough thin and cut it into squares or rounds.
- 415 min
Place a spoonful of filling on each piece and fold over, sealing the edges firmly with a fork.
- 55 min
Heat a deep pot of oil to about 350°F (175°C).
- 64 min
Fry the pastries in batches, turning, until puffed and deep golden, 3 to 4 minutes.
- 73 min
Lift out and drain on paper towels.
- 85 min
Serve hot with a generous spoonful of pikliz.
