Pastel de Carne

Step 1

Pour 2 cups flour into a large mixing bowl and add 1 teaspoon salt and 0.5 teaspoon black pepper.

Step 2

Add 8 tablespoons cold butter cubes to the flour and use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like coarse sand with pea-sized butter pieces visible.

Step 3

Pour 1 egg yolk and 5 tablespoons ice-cold water into the flour mixture and stir with a fork until the dough just begins to clump together.

Step 4

Press the dough gently into a ball on the countertop using your hands, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Step 5

Slice the onion lengthwise from root tip to root tip into thin half-moon shapes about 1/8 inch thick.

Step 6

Mince the 3 garlic cloves until the pieces are smaller than a grain of rice—about the size of pencil-tip dots.

Step 7

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers and moves quickly when you tilt the pan, about 90 seconds.

Step 8

Add the ground beef to the hot oil and use a wooden spoon to break it into pea-sized pieces as it cooks, stirring constantly for 4 minutes until no pink remains.

Step 9

Add the sliced onion to the cooked beef and stir continuously for 2 minutes until the onion softens and turns translucent.

Step 10

Stir in the minced garlic, 1 teaspoon paprika, and 0.5 teaspoon cumin, then stir for 30 seconds until the spices smell strongly fragrant.

Step 11

Remove the skillet from the heat and let the filling cool for 5 minutes until it is warm but not hot to the touch.

Step 12

Chop the 0.5 cup green olives into quarters and the 2 hard-boiled eggs into pea-sized pieces, then stir both into the cooled beef mixture with 0.5 teaspoon salt and 0.25 teaspoon black pepper.

Step 13

Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 4 equal portions by cutting it into quarters.

Step 14

Place one dough portion between two sheets of parchment paper and use a rolling pin to flatten it into a 6-inch circle, rolling from the center outward in all directions.

Step 15

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the beef filling onto one half of the flattened dough circle, leaving a 0.5-inch border bare around the edge.

Step 16

Fold the empty half of the dough over the filling to form a half-moon, then use the tines of a fork pressed firmly to seal the curved edge with a diagonal pattern.

Step 17

Repeat rolling, filling, and sealing with the remaining 3 dough portions and remaining filling.

Step 18

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers and a droplet of water sizzles on contact, about 90 seconds.

Step 19

Place 2 pastels seam-side down in the hot oil and fry for 3 minutes until the bottom is deep golden brown and looks like honey-colored toast.

Step 20

Use a thin metal spatula to flip each pastel carefully and fry the second side for 3 minutes until it matches the color and crispness of the first side.

Step 21

Transfer the cooked pastels to a paper towel–lined plate and repeat frying with the remaining 2 pastels.

Step 22

Serve the pastels warm on a clean plate, allowing them to cool for 2 minutes before eating so the filling does not burn your mouth.