INGREDIENTS
- Beef filling
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ small onion, finely mined
- ⅛ of a medium sized green bell pepper, finely diced
- ½ teaspoon of paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- 300 grams of ground beef
- 1 tablespoon of raisins
- salt & pepper to taste
- Tuna filling
- 2 cans with tuna chunks (300 grams of tuna)
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 small tomato, diced
- ½ teaspoon of paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon of piccalilli
- ½ tablespoon of capers
- 1 tablespoon of raisins
- Pastechi dough
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 500 grams of flour
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 7 grams of baking powder
- 150-200 ml of water
- *Sunflower oil to fry the pastechi’s
INSTRUCTIONS
- Beef filling
- Heat the olive in a skillet on medium heat
- Add the onion and bell pepper, cook until the onions are translucent
- Add the paprika powder, cumin and nutmeg and cook the spices for about 30 seconds
- Then add the ground beef, mix often, until beef is fully cooked
- Mix in the raisins and remove the skillet from heat
- Let cool off.
- Tuna filling
- Drain the tuna cans of oil, or water and shred with a fork into smaller chunks
- Heat the olive in a skillet on medium heat
- Add the onion and garlic, cook until the onions are translucent
- Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften
- Add the tuna and sprinkle the paprika powder over the tuna
- Mix the onions, tomatoes and tuna well
- Add the piccalilli, capers and raisins and mix well with the other ingredients
- Remove the skillet from heat
- Let cool off
- Pastechi dough
- Mix the oil and butter to a paste in a small bowl or cup
- In a large bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder and mix well
- Add the oil and butter mixture and a little bit of the water
- Start kneading the dough, add more water if needed, until the dough comes together
- Roll the dough in a ball and cover with clingfilm and set aside.
- Assemble
- Cut the dough in about 12-15 equal sized pieces, and shape into balls and cover
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough in a 10-15 diameter round that is +/- 0.5 cm thick
- Fill the dough in the center of the round with 1 tablespoon of filling
- Leave a border at the edge of about 1 cm
- Brush the edge of the dough with a little bit of water and fold one half over the filling
- Seal by pressing down the edges with your fingers or a fork.
- Heat oil in a deep pan
- Carefully place max. 2 pastechi’s in the oil and cook on each side till golden brown
- Remove and drain on kitchen towels
NOTES
Do you to try want a different filling? These are the other ones I know about.
Gouda Cheese (Perfect for breakfast)
Just fill the pastry with about 1 tablespoon of grated Gouda cheese
Chicken (A great option)
Follow the recipe of the beef filling
Replace beef with shredded chicken
Salted cod (The first choice for a lot of people)
Follow the recipe of the tuna filling
Replace tuna with desalted shredded cod
Desalt the cod by boiling water in a large pan
Add the cod and lower the heat to a soft simmer for 10 to 15 minutes
Discard the water and rinse the fish with cold water
Remove the skin and bones
Shred the fish with your fingers or with a fork (If you put this in a kitchen machine you’ll get fish paste)
* Don’t add salt to the dish, until you finish cooking and have tasted it.