Pastel

Pastel (Brazilian Fried Pastry)

Crisp, blistered fried turnovers sold at every feira and street market in Brazil, traditionally filled with cheese, seasoned minced beef, or hearts of palm. The dough is rolled paper-thin so it shatters when bitten.

Prep

35 min

Cook

20 min

Total

55 min

Serves

12 pastéis

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (1 lb 2 oz) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
• •250 ml (1 cup) whole milk, lukewarm
• •60 ml (¼ cup) neutral oil, plus ~1 L / 4 cups for frying
• •10 g (2 tsp) fine salt
• •1 tbsp cachaça or white vinegar, traditional tenderiser; vodka or lemon juice also work
• •300 g (10½ oz) mozzarella cheese, cut into 12 small cubes, or null
• •250 g (8 oz) hearts of palm, canned Brazilian palmito if available, drained and finely chopped, or null
• •200 g (7 oz) ground beef, lean, or null
• •1 small onion, finely diced
• •2 cloves garlic, minced
• •5 g (1 tsp) salt, for the filling
• •2 g (1 tsp) ground black pepper
• •1 g (½ tsp) ground cumin, optional but typical
• •5 g (1 tbsp) tomato paste, optional, for colour and depth
• •5 g (1 tbsp) chopped fresh parsley or coriander

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: in a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Pour in the lukewarm milk, the 60 ml oil and the cachaça (or vinegar). Mix with a wooden spoon, then turn out and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky. Cover and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes; this is essential for a paper-thin roll.
2. 2 Meanwhile, prepare the meat filling: heat 1 tbsp of the frying oil in a small pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion for 3–4 minutes until translucent, add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then add the ground beef. Break it up and brown for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until no pink remains and the moisture has evaporated. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and the tomato paste, stir for 1 minute, then finish with the parsley. Cool completely; the filling must be cool and dry or it will make the pastry soggy and burst.
3. 3 Prepare the cheese filling by cutting the mozzarella into 12 small cubes (about 2 cm / ¾ inch). Pat hearts of palm dry in a clean towel and chop finely.
4. 4 Divide the rested dough into 12 equal balls (about 60 g / just over 2 oz each). On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball out as thinly as you can - a proper pastel dough should be almost translucent, around 1–2 mm thick. Keep the rounds covered with a damp cloth while you work.
5. 5 Assemble one pastel at a time: place roughly 1 heaped tsp of the chosen filling (about 20 g) on one half of the round, leaving a 1 cm / ½ inch border. For cheese, place a single cube; for hearts of palm, a small mound; for meat, a heaped teaspoon of the cooled mixture.
6. 6 Fold the dough over the filling to make a half-moon. Press the edges firmly to seal, then crimp with the tines of a fork or a twisted fold. Avoid trapped air bubbles, which can burst during frying.
7. 7 Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 170–180 °C / 340–350 °F (a small piece of dough should sizzle immediately and turn golden in about 40 seconds).
8. 8 Fry 2–3 pastéis at a time, without crowding, for 2–3 minutes per side, until deeply golden, blistered and crisp. Maintain oil temperature between the batches.
9. 9 Drain on a wire rack (not paper towels, which soften the crust). The mince filling must reach 71 °C / 160 °F internally; in practice the long browning step plus the fry ensures this. Serve immediately with sugarcane juice, lime wedges or a simple green chilli sauce.