Meat Turnovers Pastéis Recipes

EMPANADAS (BEEF TURNOVERS)

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Add onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes more. Stir in tomato sauce, olives, Sofrito, Sazon, garlic, oregano and black pepper. Lower heat to medium-low and simmer until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes.
• On a lightly floured work surface, using a rolling pin, roll out discos until 1/2-inch larger in diameter. Spoon about 1 tbsp. meat mixture into middle, fold in half to form a half moon; moisten edges with water and pinch to seal closed, or seal with a fork.
• Fill a deep saucepan with oil to a depth of 2 1/2-inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking (350 degrees F on deep-fry thermometer). Cook Empanadas in batches until crisp and golden brown, flipping once, 4 - 6 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

MEAT TURNOVERS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400*.
• Cook and stir ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Stir in 2 Tblsp. baking mix, salt, garlic salt, catsup and sour cream; heat through.
• Stir 1 1/2 cups baking mix and the water to a soft dough. Gently smooth dough into a ball on floured cloth-covered board. Knead 5 times.
• Roll dough into a 12-inch square; cut into four 6-inch squares. Place squares on ungreased baking sheet; spoon 1/3 cup meat mixture on each. Fold dough over to make triangles and press edges together to seal securely. Cut slit in center of each turnover.
• Bake 15 to 20 minutes.

PASTECHIS (ANTILLEAN MEAT TURNOVERS)

Steps:

• Saute vegetables in oil.
• Add beef and cook until well done.
• Add bouillon cube, cumin, tomato paste and if necessary, a little water.
• Stir to mix ingredients.
• Simmer until bouillon cube is dissolved.
• Add remaining ingredients.
• You can do a taste test and make filling as spicy as desired.
• Place 1 generous teaspoon of filling on round of Pastechi Pastry.
• Fold rounds in half.
• Seal and crimp edges.
• Fry in hot oil till golden brown.
• Drain on paper towels.
• Serve warm!
• (We like to dip our pastechis in ketchup, but they're yummy plain too!).

MINIATURE MEAT TURNOVERS

Steps:

• 1. Brown hamburger in a large skillet. When all the red is gone, add the remaining ingredients and saute for about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• 2. Unwrap a package of crescent rolls. CUT EACH CRESCENT ROLL IN HALF (very important) - they will not be evenly sized. Place 1 teaspoonful or so of meat mixture on each half of the crescent roll and wrap up (just pinch the dough around the mixture and make sure it is "closed") If you are using these right away, simply place each turnover on a cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Continue with remaining crescent rolls and meat mixture.
• 3. Bake at 375 for approximately 15-20 minutes - until lightly browned.
• 4. If you are making these for later, place each turnover on a cookie sheet (get as many as you can on each sheet) - then place the cookie sheet in the freezer for about 10 minutes, until the turnovers are hardened slightly) - then you can just place them in plastic bag and freeze. When cooking the frozen turnovers, let them defrost slightly and cook them for about 5 minutes additional. Keep watching the bottoms so they don't burn.

MEAT TURNOVERS (PASTéIS)

Steps:

• Pastéis (singular pastel) are very Brazilian. The familiar shops often sell caldo de cana to drink with the pastéis. This drink is made by a special machine where sugar cane sticks are inserted into the machine. It is light green in color and very sweet. Pastéis are also commonly found on the Brazilian table with rice, brown beans and lettuce salad. They are equally popular served in a smaller size at fancy cocktail parties. They should be served hot from the pan. Sift the flour, add the salt, cut in the butter or lard and add the egg. Add drops of warm water until the dough holds together. Mix until it becomes smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise one hour. In Brazil you find several types of fillings: __Palmitos in white sauce __A square of white cheese, maybe Swiss __Beef-see below BEEF FILLING Heat the oil, add the onion and the ground beef. When well browned, add the flour, the salt and the pepper, the parsley and the green olives. While the above mixture is cooking, roll dough out to 1/8 inch thick. Cut into 3 inch squares. Place a spoonful of filling on each square. Put another square on top and seal. You could dampen the edge of the pastel and then seal by pressing down with a fork. The pastéis would be made smaller for appetizers. Heat the oil until it smokes. Deep fry pastéis individually. Drain on absorbent towel and eat hot. Alternate fillings: Palmitos in a white sauce (see Little Pies- Beef Fil), or cut squares of Swiss or mozzarella cheese, meat sauce recipe above. Small size pastéis are used as hors d'oeuvres and larger pastéis served as part of dinner. For a short cut to making the dough listed above, you can use wonton skins which are readily found in the produce counter at the super market.

TANGY BEEF TURNOVERS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add sauerkraut and cheese. , Unroll crescent roll dough and separate into rectangles. Place on greased baking sheets; pinch seams to seal. Place 1/2 cup beef mixture in the center of each rectangle. Bring corners to the center and pinch to seal. Bake at 375° for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.