Glenn Lindgren: We get many, many requests for pastele or pastelito recipes.
Jorge Castillo: Everybody misses these great Miami favorites.
Glenn Lindgren: Basically, pastelitos use a variation of puff pastry, and learning how to make it is considered quite an accomplishment in most cooking schools!
Jorge Castillo: The bakeries also have professional equipment that makes the entire job a lot easier!
Glenn Lindgren: If you can stomach a shortcut or two, we also present the easy way to make pasteles using frozen puff pastry...
Delicate puff pastries filled with tropical fruits, cream cheese, and even meat!
INGREDIENTS:
FILLINGS (See below):
guava
coconut
cream cheese
meat (carne)
Make sure you refrigerate your butter so it is completely solid! We have tried both salted and unsalted butter, and there is little difference. The salted butter produced a pastelito with a slightly better flavor.
Use a chilled work surface (a marble work surface works great) if possible and be sure you work in a cool room. This is not a recipe to make in a hot kitchen!
Use an electric mixer to blend one cup water and the lemon juice with 1/2 cup of the butter and the salt. Gradually blend in the flour. You will have a lumpy mess but don't panic. Begin adding water, a little at a time until you get a smooth, workable dough – similar in consistency to pie crust. Cover the dough with a moist cloth and let stand for 10 minutes or so.
With a rolling pin, roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until you get a nice rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Refrigerate.
Place the remaining butter in a bowl and knead it together with about 1/3 cup of flour added very gradually. You need to create a pliable mixture without letting the butter become completely soft. So if the mixture gets too warm before you get a nice pliable mixture, put the bowl in the refrigerator to re-chill.
Take a piece of baker's parchment that is about two thirds the size of the dough you rolled out. Spread the butter and flour mixture evenly on the parchment until you get a smooth and even surface. Refrigerate immediately for 20 to 30 minutes.
Take the refrigerated dough you rolled out and place on your well-floured work surface. Remove the parchment from your butter block and place on top of the dough. The butter should cover two thirds of the dough surface. Leave about 1/2 inch space on each side of the butter. The reason for this will become apparent as you follow the remaining steps.
Take the part of the dough that is NOT covered with butter and fold it over so that it covers one-third of the butter-covered part. Take one-third of the butter covered section and fold over the top of your first fold. With your hands, press along all edges to seal completely. Now rotate the dough 90 degrees, so that the seam runs perpendicular to you.
Lightly dust with flour and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick. When folding and rolling, the idea is to roll the dough out to approximately the same size rectabgle you had before you made the folds.
Now, fold the two ends together like a book, and fold in again – this is called a four fold. (See Diagram below.)
Once you make your four fold, place the dough on a sheet tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove dough from refrigerator, place on floured work surface, lightly dust with flour and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick and to the same size as your original rectangular sheet. Fold one-third of the dough into the middle. Cover with remaining third. Place the dough on a sheet tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Remove dough from refrigerator, place on floured work surface, lightly dust with flour and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick and to the same size as your original rectangular sheet. Fold the two ends together like a book, and fold in again (another four fold – see diagram above.) Place the dough on a sheet tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Now we get to roll out the dough one last time! Remove dough from refrigerator, place on floured work surface, lightly dust with flour and roll out to about 1/4-inch thick and to the same size as your original rectangular sheet..
Cover and refrigerate one hour (or more) before using. The dough may also be wrapped in plastic and frozen in sheets for later use.
3 eggs, beaten with 2 ounces of water
Simple Syrup
Mix water and sugar in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil, lower temperature to low and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
You can find both retail and commercial versions of frozen puff pastry. That's right, your favorite Miami baker may just have a little secret he or she isn't telling you about.
One of the most widely available retail frozen puff pastry products is from Pepperidge Farm. These can be found in the frozen section of just about every grocery – usually near the frozen pies.
There is no butter at all in this product, so the flavor profile is different. If you haven't had a good pastelito in awhile, you might not even notice a difference!
A classic all-butter puff pastry can be found in many gourmet shops: Dufour Pastry Kitchens makes this great pastry for the ultimate pastelito.
Follow the package directions to thaw and unroll; then use the dough as described below for the various pastelito types.
Add the guava shells and the juice from one can only to a blender. Puree the shells until you get a smooth sauce with no lumps. Blend in lemon juice. Cook uncovered over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool.
Cream Cheese Filling
Coconut Filling
Meat Filling
Add the broth and all spices to the meat in the saucepan and mix thoroughly. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Thicken the mixture by adding some of the cornstarch mixture, a little at a time until you get the right consistency. and cooking for an additional two to three minutes.
This one was given to us by a reader who's grandmother made these by hand in Oriente. You might not think that allspice is very Cuban, but this is from a hundred-year-old recipe!
Pastelitos de Guayaba (Cuban Guava Pastry)
Cut the pastry dough lengthwise in half and then cut the halves in half again so that you have four long strips of dough. Place two lengths of dough on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Use a spatula or spoon to spread a stripe of guava filling down the center of each dough strip.
Moisten the edges of the dough strips with a little water. Cover each filling covered strip with the remaining two dough strips. Seal the edges on all sides of the dough by pressing and smoothing gently with your hands.
Brush the top with an egg wash (recipe above). Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes – pastry should be crisp on top and browning. Remove the pastry strips from the oven and brush with syrup (recipe above). Return to oven and bake an additional five or six minutes.
Let cool slightly, and then cut the pastries into individual serving-sized squares.
Pastelitos de Guayaba y Queso (Cuban Guava and Cheese Pastry)
Cut the pastry dough lengthwise in half. Lightly lay one half on top of the other. Cut the two layers of pastry in large squares, and then cut the squares diagonally to create triangle shapes.
Separate the top and bottom of each triangle, spray bottom lightly with water. Place a tablespoon or so of prepared guava filling and prepared cream cheese in the center of each triangle. Cover with the top section of dough. Seal the edges on all sides of the dough triangle by pressing and smoothing gently with your hands.
Brush the top with an egg wash (recipe above). Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes – pastry should be crisp on top and browning. Remove the pastries from the oven and brush with syrup (recipe above).
Return to oven and bake an additional five or six minutes.
Pastelitos de Coco (Cuban Coconut Pastry)
Cut the pastry dough lengthwise in half and then cut the halves in half again so that you have four long strips of dough. Place two lengths of dough on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Use a spatula or spoon to spread a stripe of grated coconut filling down the center of each dough strip.
Moisten the edges of the dough strips with a little water. Cover each filling-covered strip with the remaining two dough strips. Seal the edges on all sides of the dough by pressing and smoothing gently with your hands.
Brush the top with an egg wash (recipe above). Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes – pastry should be crisp on top and browning. Remove the pastry strips from the oven and brush with syrup (recipe above).
Return to oven and bake an additional five or six minutes.
Let cool slightly, and then cut the pastries into individual serving-sized squares.
Pastelitos de Carne (Cuban Meat Pastry)
Cut the pastry dough lengthwise in half. Use a circular cookie cutter to cut your dough into circles. Take a dough circle, moisten slightly with water. Place a tablespoon or so of prepared meat filling in the center of each circle. Cover with another cut circle of dough.
Seal the edges on all sides of the dough circle by pressing and smoothing gently with your hands.
Brush the top with an egg wash (recipe above). Bake approximately 25 to 30 minutes – pastry should be crisp on top and browning. Remove the pastries from the oven and brush with syrup (recipe above).
Return to oven and bake an additional five or six minutes.
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