How to cook Brazilian Pastel

Pastel /Pastel

‘Pastel’ is a thin pastel that is deep-fried and traditionally served alongside sugar cane juice. The pastel is a typical Brazilian fast food dish for any occasion.

Makes 10 medium sized pastels

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of cachaça (or white rum or vodka)

1 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of salt

200g of buffalo mozzarella cheese

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl or on the work surface. Make a hole in the middle and add the oil, cachaça and some of the warm water. Mix the flour into the middle until you have a ball of dough.

 

Flour a bit of your work surface and begin rolling out the dough until it’s very thin. Cut to the size of a rectangle of about 8 x 5 inches for a medium sized pastel. Add a scoop of your filling in the middle. Before you fold over, wet your finger with water and pass around the edge of the pastel, then fold over. In a medium sized pan, heat the cooking oil to hot and fry each pastel gently for a minute or two or until a light golden brown on each side. Be careful as the cachaça in the dough will pop and oil tends to spit. The pastels cook very quickly as the pastry is very thin. Serve immediately alongside fresh sugar cane juice.