Pastel de Carne
A Brazilian beef empanada with a savory ground beef filling wrapped in buttery, flaky pastry. Golden-brown and crispy outside, juicy and aromatic inside—a beloved street food and comfort meal.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 615
- Protein
- 24g
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, yellow
- 3 cloves garlic cloves
- ½ cup green olives, pitted
- 2 large hard-boiled eggs
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 8 tablespoons butter, cold, cubed
- 1 large egg yolk
- 5 tablespoons water, ice-cold
Instructions
- 1
Pour 2 cups flour into a large mixing bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt and 0.5 teaspoon black pepper.
- 2
Add 8 tablespoons cold butter cubes to the flour and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse sand with pea-sized butter pieces visible.
- 3
Pour 1 egg yolk and 5 tablespoons ice-cold water into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough just begins to clump together.
- 4
Press the dough gently into a ball on the countertop using your hands, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- 5
Slice the onion lengthwise from root tip to root tip into thin half-moon shapes about 1/8 inch thick.
- 6
Mince the 3 garlic cloves until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice—about the size of pencil-tip dots.
- 7
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers and moves quickly when you tilt the pan, about 90 seconds.
- 8
Add the ground beef to the hot oil and use a wooden spoon to break it into pea-sized pieces as it cooks, stirring constantly for 4 minutes until no pink remains.
- 9
Add the sliced onion to the cooked beef and stir continuously for 2 minutes until the onion softens and turns translucent.
- 10
Stir in the minced garlic, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 0.5 teaspoon cumin, then stir for 30 seconds until the spices smell strongly fragrant.
- 11
Remove the skillet from the heat and let the filling cool for 5 minutes until it is warm but not hot to the touch.
- 12
Chop the 0.5 cup green olives into quarters and the 2 hard-boiled eggs into pea-sized pieces, then stir both into the cooled beef mixture with 0.5 teaspoon salt and 0.25 teaspoon black pepper.
- 13
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 4 equal portions by cutting it into quarters.
- 14
Place one dough portion between two sheets of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten it into a 6-inch circle, rolling from the center outward in all directions.
- 15
Spoon 3 tablespoons of the beef filling onto one half of the flattened dough circle, leaving a 0.5-inch border bare around the edge.
- 16
Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling to form a half-moon, then use the tines of a fork pressed firmly to seal the curved edge with a diagonal pattern.
- 17
Repeat rolling, filling, and sealing with the remaining 3 dough portions and remaining filling.
- 18
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers and a droplet of water sizzles on contact, about 90 seconds.
- 19
Place 2 pastels seam-side down in the hot oil and fry for 3 minutes until the bottom is deep golden brown and looks like honey-colored toast.
- 20
Use a thin metal spatula to flip each pastel carefully and fry the second side for 3 minutes until it matches the color and crispness of the first side.
- 21
Transfer the cooked pastels to a paper towel–lined plate and repeat frying with the remaining 2 pastels.
- 22
Serve the pastels warm on a clean plate, allowing them to cool for 2 minutes before eating so the filling does not burn your mouth.
Tools you’ll need
- large mixing bowl
- fork
- plastic wrap
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- large skillet (12-inch minimum)
- wooden spoon
- rolling pin
- parchment paper
- fork for sealing
- thin metal spatula
- paper towels
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