This Senegalese recipe is also called “pastel” and originally comes from Lebanon. Lebanese people call them “sambousiks”, and Argentines also love these tiny savory beef pastries and call them “empanadas”.
Beef Fatayas
1 October 2021
: For 10 fatayas
: 1 hr 30 min
: 10 min
: 1 hr 50 min
: Easy
I don’t advise to make smaller-size pastries although they are quite filling to me. This dish is a lot of fun to prepare with a team of friends as part of a cooking workshop.
Ingredients
FOR THE DOUGH
- 300 g flour
- ¾ of a dry yeast pack
- 1 pinch of salt
- 60 ml of room temperature water
- 6 TBS olive oil
- 1 egg
FOR THE STUFFING AND THE FRYING
- 350 g minced beef
- 100 g of thinly chopped onions and shallots
- 3 chopped garlic cloves
- Cilantro
- Chives and parsley in quantity
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Frying oil
Directions
- Step 1 Start preparing the dough with the tip of your fingers: mix the flour with the yeast and then add the egg. Progressively pour the water, add the pinch of salt, and finish up with 2 to 3 TBS of olive oil. Let the dough sit for at least 30 minutes. If you decide to store it in the refrigerator, allow enough time to reach room temperature before working it for its final shaping.
- Step 2 To prepare the stuffing, fry the onions and shallots with a dash of oil. Add the meat, the salt and pepper, the garlic, and the chopped herbs. Fry this mixture until it becomes quite dry. You may store this preparation in the refrigerator until the dough is in its final shape, that is laying flat and ready to be filled with the stuffing.
- Step 3 Making of the turnovers: separate the dough into 8 to 10 balls. Flatten each one of them and place the cooled filling at its centre. Close the pastry in the shape of a turnover, flatten the extremities with a fork to avoid leaks during frying. Heat the oil a few minutes. Once it reaches a hot temperature, fry the turnovers until golden. When done, place them on a kitchen paper towel. Serve the pastries hot with a green salad.
Good to know!
