3 Guys from Miami Cuban Food Recipe:Pastelitos/Pasteles (Cuban)

The Pastry

1 cup cold water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cups butter (cold, salted or unsalted)
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour

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.

Egg Wash

3 eggs, beaten with 2 ounces of water

Simple Syrup

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup water

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.

Ingredients

Guava Filling

Ingredients

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

Ingredients

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons milk

Take two packages of cream cheese at room temperature. With an electric mixer, mix in two tablespoons milk and lemon juice and blend until smooth. Gradually add sugar and continue mixing until fluffy.

Coconut Filling

Ingredients

2 cans grated coconut in heavy syrup

Meat Filling

Ingredients

1 pound minced roast beef (cooked)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cornstarch

Place the meat in a saucepan with the broth. Add all spices and mix thoroughly. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Thicken the mixture by adding some cornstarch mixed with water and cooking for an additional two to three minutes.

For all Baking: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

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)

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.

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.

2 (32-ounce) cans guava shells in syrup
2 tablespoons lemon juice