Pastel
Pastel de feira
Thin wheat dough folded around beef or cheese and deep-fried until it blisters and puffs. The São Paulo street-market pastry.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Pastel de feira.
- Prep
- 1 hr
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr 55 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Pastel de feira is a large rectangle of very thin wheat dough folded around a spoonful of filling, sealed with a fork and dropped into hot oil, where it puffs up and covers itself in crisp blisters. The two standard fillings are written here: carne, minced beef cooked dry with onion, tomato, olives and chopped egg, and queijo, plain grated mozzarella. The dough has a splash of cachaça or vinegar, which makes it fry crisper and blister more. Roll it as thin as you can, keep the filling dry and cold, and fry it hot and fast.
What you'll need
18 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Dough
- Carne filling
- Queijo filling
- To fry
Ingredients
Dough
- Wheat flour500 g
- Water, warm250 ml
- Neutral oil30 ml
- Vinegar, or cachaça15 ml
- Salt7.4 ml
Carne filling
- Beef, minced300 g
- Neutral oil15 ml
- Onion, finely chopped1 medium
- Garlic, crushed2 clove
- Tomato, seeded and chopped1 medium
- Salt4.9 ml
- Green olives, pitted, chopped50 g
- Egg, hard-boiled and chopped2
- Parsley, chopped1 handful
- Spring onion, sliced2
Queijo filling
- Mozzarella, low-moisture block, grated300 g
- Oregano, dried (optional)4.9 ml
To fry
- Neutral oil, for deep-frying1½ l
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Mix the flour and salt in a bowl, add the warm water, oil and vinegar and bring it together. Knead for 5 to 8 minutes until smooth and elastic, then wrap and rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
10 min
Step 2
For the carne filling, fry the onion and garlic in the oil until soft, add the beef and cook over high heat, breaking it up, until brown and dry. Add the tomato and salt and cook until no liquid is left. Cool, then stir in the olives, egg, parsley and spring onion.
20 min
Tip: A wet filling makes the pastel burst in the oil. Cook it dry and let it go cold.
Step 3
Divide the dough in two and roll each half very thin, 1 to 2 mm, into a long strip about 24 cm wide. Cut it into rectangles of about 12 by 24 cm.
15 min
Step 4
Fill six with the beef, about 4 heaped tablespoons each, and six with about 50 g of cheese and a pinch of oregano. Put the filling on one half of each rectangle, leaving a 2 cm border. Fold over, press out most of the air and seal the edges firmly with a fork.
15 min
Step 5
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 190°C. Fry one or two at a time for 2 to 3 minutes, spooning oil over the top so they puff, then turning, until golden and blistered all over. Drain on a rack.
20 min190°C
Watch: Hot cheese can burst through a weak seal. Press the edges well and keep your face back from the pot.
Step 6
Eat them straight away, with hot sauce or a splash of chilli vinegar.
2 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 495 kcal
- Protein
- 18.3 g
- Carbs
- 34.7 g
- Fat
- 31.1 g
- Saturated fat
- 8.4 g
- Fibre
- 1.6 g
- Sugar
- 1.2 g
- Sodium
- 617 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Eggs
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.
Substitutions
Cachaça or vinegar → Vodka
Any neutral spirit gives the same crisp, blistered crust.
Mozzarella → Any firm, low-moisture melting cheese
Fresh mozzarella is too wet and makes the pastel soggy.
Tips
- Brazilian shops sell ready-made massa de pastel in long rolled strips, which is what many stalls use too.
- Leave a little air inside when you seal. It helps the pastel puff into a pillow.
History & culture
It is the food of the feira livre, the weekly street market, above all in São Paulo, where the pastel stall stands at the end of the fruit and vegetable stalls. People eat it standing up with a glass of caldo de cana, sugarcane juice pressed at the next stall, and a shake of chilli vinegar from the bottle on the counter.
The story goes that Chinese immigrants adapted the spring roll into the pastel in the early twentieth century. Japanese-Brazilian families in São Paulo took up the market stalls in large numbers after the Second World War, and many pastel stands are still run by their descendants. Fillings have multiplied since, but carne and queijo are still the two every stall sells.
Traditional — Market stalls sheet the dough paper-thin by machine and often buy it ready-made. Hand-rolled dough comes out a little thicker. The beef filling varies by stall; olives and egg are common but not universal.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Pastel take?
1 hr 55 min all in — 1 hr prep, 25 min cook, 30 min rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 12 pieces. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Nut-free.
8 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Frying pan, Rolling pin, Chef's knife, Dutch oven, Spider or strainer.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1½ tsp.
How much vinegar?
1 tbsp (or cachaça) of Vinegar.
What can I use instead?
Cachaça or vinegar → Vodka. Any neutral spirit gives the same crisp, blistered crust. Mozzarella → Any firm, low-moisture melting cheese. Fresh mozzarella is too wet and makes the pastel soggy.
What should I watch for?
Hot cheese can burst through a weak seal. Press the edges well and keep your face back from the pot.
Any tips from this recipe?
Brazilian shops sell ready-made massa de pastel in long rolled strips, which is what many stalls use too. Leave a little air inside when you seal. It helps the pastel puff into a pillow.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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