Moroccan · Street food
Pastels (Moroccan-Jewish Fried Meat Pies)
Pastels are golden fried pies of spiced minced-meat filling encased in a tender dough, a staple of Moroccan-Jewish home cooking and holiday tables. The filling — beef or chicken cooked down with onion, parsley and warm spices, sometimes with a hard-boiled egg — is sealed in rounds of dough and fried until crisp and blistered, eaten warm as a starter or snack.
- Prep
- 50 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Advanced
Ingredients
- 400 g flour
- 3 tbsp oil, plus more for frying
- 1/2 tsp salt and warm water for the dough
- 400 g minced beef
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 1 large bunch parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (optional)
- 1 egg, beaten, for sealing
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- 1
Make the dough
Mix flour, oil, salt and enough warm water to form a soft, smooth dough; rest it covered for 30 minutes.
- 2
Cook the filling
Fry the onion until soft, add the mince, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook until browned and dry, then stir in the parsley and cool.
- 3
Roll and cut
Roll the dough thin and cut into rounds about 10 cm across.
- 4
Fill and seal
Place filling (and a little chopped egg) on each round, brush the edge with beaten egg, fold into a half-moon and crimp firmly shut.
- 5
Fry
Fry in hot oil, turning, until crisp and deep golden, then drain on paper and serve warm.
Chef's tips
- Cook the filling until dry — a wet filling makes the dough soggy and can burst it in the oil.
- Crimp the edges firmly, pressing with a fork, so no filling escapes during frying.
- Keep the oil at a steady medium-high; too cool and the pies drink oil, too hot and they brown before the dough cooks.
Frequently asked questions
Can I bake pastels?
Yes; brush with egg and bake at 190°C until golden for a lighter version, though the traditional pastel is fried for its blistered, crisp shell.
What meat is traditional?
Beef is most common in observant Moroccan-Jewish kitchens, but chicken or a mix are also used; the spicing and parsley stay much the same.