Pastechi: Antillean filled pasties ⋆ RECIPE via SOULFOOD.nl

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Pastechi is perhaps the most famous snack from the Antilles. On Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao you can eat these filled pasties for breakfast or at a party. They are filled with cheese, minced meat, chicken or fish and then deep fried.

This recipe is for the pastechi with minced meat, or the 'pastechi karni† Would you like to try the other fillings? We've put them all in our super thick cookbook for you!

In our cookbook 'De Complete Antilliaanse keuken' In addition to this recipe for minced meat pastechi, you will also find the other versions. Did you know that there are no less than 300 recipes in our book? All Antillean recipes from snacks to cakes and from main dishes to drinks are in it! You can now shop the book for only € 24,95 and of course it will be delivered to your home for free.

de complete antilliaanse keuken cookbook jurino ignacio

Pastechi at a party or for breakfast?

On Curaçao you can find pastechis at bakeries and snack bars. The ones you buy there are a lot bigger than the ones you get at a party. You will find this version mainly in the morning, because there it is a kind of 'breakfast to go' is. Very tasty of course – for once!

Pastechis are also ideal as a snack or as a snack at a party. At a party, the pastechi are made a bit smaller, so that the guests can enjoy more snacks. Usually the pastechi at a party have a diameter of about 10 centimeters.

You can use a special shape (as in the video below!) to fold the pastechi. You can find this form (among others) at bol.com .

This recipe will make about 20-25 pastechi karni.

Ingredients:

for the filling

20 gr butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, diced
a stalk of celery, finely chopped
1/2 Madame Jeanette pepper, finely chopped
500 grams (beef) minced meat
2 tablespoons of raisins
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
Soy sauce and black pepper to taste

for the dough

500 gr wheat flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag / 16 gr baking powder
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 egg, jammed
200 ml water

Preparation:

We start by making the mincemeat filling for the pastechi. To do this, melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the chopped onion, bell pepper, celery and (optional) the Madame Jeanette pepper. Saute this together until the onion is translucent.

Then add the minced meat along with the raisins. Fry this together until the meat is cooked. Then add the ketchup, soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste.

Keep stirring the filling while baking until it is a homogeneous mixture. Then let the mincemeat filling cool while you continue making the pastechi dough.

Making dough for pastechi

Place all ingredients — except the water — in a bowl and mix well. Then add the water little by little and knead into a smooth dough. Is the dough too sticky? Then you can add some extra flour. Is it just too dry? Then add some water!

If you knead with a food processor, 3 minutes is enough. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes.

Once you've kneaded the dough, let it rest under plastic wrap for 30 minutes. This makes it nice and soft and it will be easy to roll out later.

Then roll out the dough until it is about 3 millimeters thick. Then cut circles out of the dough. This will soon be the pastechi.

Fill each circle of dough with a tablespoon of the filling. Brush the edges of the circle with some water and fold the dough in half. Finally, press the edges of the pastechi karni well with a fork.

TIP: You can also use a pastechi former for this. I find that much more convenient myself. This way the pastechi will all be exactly the same size. We use the following set at home - it's not expensive and you immediately have 4 different sizes! You can also immediately use the bottom of the shape to cut out the circles. Useful!

When you've filled all the pastechi, it's time to bake!

Preheat a deep-fat fryer or pan with oil to 170 degrees. Then fry the pastechi in the oil until golden. This will take about 5-7 minutes. Finally, let them cool on kitchen paper – Enjoy your meal!