Pastel (Brazilian Fried Pastry Pockets)

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the cachaça, oil and enough warm water to bring it together, then knead 8–10 minutes into a smooth, elastic, non-sticky dough.

Wrap the dough and rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes.

💡 Resting relaxes the gluten so the dough will roll out thin without springing back — thin dough is what fries up crisp instead of bready.

Meanwhile, make the filling: soften the onion and garlic in a little oil, add the ground beef and brown it, breaking up the lumps.

Stir in the tomato paste, olives, salt and pepper and cook 5 minutes. Off the heat, mix in the parsley and let the filling cool completely.

Roll the rested dough out as thin as you can on a floured surface — you should almost see through it.

💡 Thickness is everything. Thick pastel dough puffs into a doughy pillow; truly thin dough is what gives the shattering, blistered crust.

Cut the sheet into rectangles about 12×16cm. Place a spoon of cool filling on one half of each.

Brush the edges with a little water, fold over into a rectangle and press the edges firmly, then seal all around with the tines of a fork.

💡 Seal with no trapped air pockets — a bubble of air expands in the oil and can burst the pastel, spitting hot fat. Press out any air toward the open edge before sealing.

Heat the oil to 180°C. It should be deep enough for the pastel to float.

💡 Hot oil is what blisters the crust. Too cool and the dough soaks up fat and turns pale and greasy instead of crackling and light.

Fry one or two at a time, spooning hot oil over the top, 2–3 minutes until deep golden and blistered. Turn once.

Drain on a rack. Serve immediately, while the crust is still shattering-crisp, with hot sauce or a squeeze of lime.