Pastel de Feira (Fried Pastry Turnovers)
Crispy, golden fried pastry pockets filled with seasoned ground beef and hard-boiled egg, a Brazilian street-food staple sold at open-air markets. The thin, blistered dough fries up shatteringly crisp.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp cachaça or vodka
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for dough)
- 12 oz ground beef (80/20)
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large plum tomato, seeded, diced
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
Instructions
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1
Make the dough: whisk 2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 tsp salt together in a large bowl. Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for dough), 2 tbsp cachaça or vodka, and 3/4 cup warm water. Mix until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes until smooth. Wrap in plastic and rest for 30 minutes.
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2
Make the filling: heat 2 tsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté 1 small finely diced yellow onion until softened, about 3 minutes. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook 30 seconds. Add 12 oz ground beef (80/20) and cook, breaking it up, until browned and no pink remains. Drain excess fat.
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3
Stir 1 large seeded, diced plum tomato, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp sweet paprika, and additional salt to taste into the beef. Cook 3 more minutes until tomato softens. Remove from heat and fold in 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs and 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley. Let filling cool completely.
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4
Divide dough into equal balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a very thin round, about 6 inches in diameter.
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5
Place a heaping spoonful of filling on one half of each round. Fold the dough over and press the edges firmly to seal, then crimp with a fork.
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6
Heat 4 cups vegetable oil (for frying) in a deep heavy pot to 350°F (175°C). Fry pastels in batches, 2-3 at a time, for 2-3 minutes per side until golden and blistered. Drain on a paper-towel-lined plate and serve immediately.