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Brazilian kitchen

Beef Pastel

The blistered, bubbly market pastry that arrives too hot to hold and gets eaten anyway. Spring roll wrappers stand in for homemade dough and nobody at the table will file a complaint.

Total time
18 min
Serves
2
Effort
Medium

What you need

Written for 2 — nudge the counter and the numbers follow.

Cooking for
2 people

0 of 9 in the basket.

How you make it

  1. Brown the mince in the olive oil over high heat for 5 minutes, breaking it up, until no pink remains and the base of the pan is browning.

  2. Add the onion, garlic, paprika and tomato puree with salt and pepper, cook 3 minutes more, then spread on a plate to cool for 3 minutes.

  3. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to 170-180C, keeping it no more than a third full and never walking away from it.

  4. Put a heaped tablespoon of filling on each wrapper, fold into a rectangle, and seal all the edges firmly with the flour paste, pressing out any trapped air.

  5. Fry two at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until blistered and deep golden, then drain on kitchen paper and salt lightly.

Read all that and thought “absolutely not”?

Completely fair. Beef Pastel is sitting in the Brazilian kitchen right now, it costs nothing, and it will never arrive.

Order it instead

Smoke, beans and a party that starts at the grill.