I really love it when you can follow the story of a recipe, the lineage through which it has been passed. I got this recipe from my friend Joe from work, who got the recipe from his aunt, who got the recipe from a little old lady while on a trip. The way a recipe can jump, hop and skip around is really interesting to think about, especially since it probably evolves a little every time it gets passed along.
So here is a recipe for pastelitos, ‘little pies,’ Carribean pasties, from a recipe that has made (at least) four stops in different kitchens along the way. What will your iteration be?
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Pastelitos
(recipe from Joe Zacharias)
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 green bell pepper, diced
5 potatoes, coarsely grated
1 green onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 1/2 Cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 Cup butter
ice water
Directions
- To make the filling, fry together the beef, onion, pepper, salt, green pepper, potato, green onion, garlic, and first measures of curry powder and cayenne. Cook this for a good long while, until the beef has a good level of brownness and the potato no longer tastes starchy.
- Remove the filling from heat and let cool. While it is cooling, assemble the dough by combining the dry ingredients. Next, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. Start to knead the dough, adding the ice water in small amounts until it comes together, the texture of pie crust.
- Roll the dough out very thin (~1/8″) and cut into rounds. Spoon the filling onto the dough circles and seal, making a half circle shaped pocket, like an empanada or a perogy.
- Bake in a 350°F oven for 20-30 minutes, until the crust is slightly browned.
- Serve and enjoy!
The color on these is just gorgeous, thanks to the curry powder and the turmeric. They have a really nice little hit of spice too. Perfectly good as a standalone snack or meal, these are also really good to dip (a girl has got to dip, you know?); I suggest tzatziki, barbecue sauce, or raita.
Also, if you make more pastelitos than you are going to consume, you can freeze them and bake them later. Freeze spread out on a cookie sheet, so that they don’t all stick together, and then transfer them to a resealable bag.
Mr, who claims to not like things that involve curry, snapped up these lovelies toute suite! He says pastelitos are “super tasty and good for dipping!”