Cabo Verde: Pasteis con Peixe

I am getting phenomenally good at pastry and dough. I think I outdid myself in these little golden beauties.

I must admit, Cook The World is not the most healthy meal plan. We eat a lot of bread/dough, a lot of deep fried food, and not enough vegetables. Case in point: these pasteis con peixe - the Cabo Verde version of empanadas. Except these are deep-fried, not baked.

But, they're pretty bloody good. I love tuna as well and this is the first time I've used it since starting the project. It was actually incredibly easy - the filling came together in basically no time at all, and by the time you've let your dough rise the filling has cooled down and is ready to rock.

I thought these were great. I made quite a large amount of them because they sounded so good and I wanted enough for lunch the following day - I'm so glad I did too, and amazingly we didn't even eat all of them in the same evening meaning we DID have some for lunch. We probably could have eaten the whole lot in one go, but it was worth leaving them for leftovers. The pasteis con peixe store well and are delicious both cold and hot.

I based my recipe off this one here.

Pasteis con Peixe - Cabo Verde's Empanadas
Makes about 15

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 cup warm water

For the filling:

• 400g canned tuna (drained weight)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 bunch coriander, chopped
• 2 cloves (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper (capsicum), diced
• 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Make the dough: in a mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar. In a mug, lightly whisk the egg. Make a dough in the centre of the dry ingredients and tip half the egg and the egg. Start to mix together, adding water gradually to make a soft and smooth dough. Cover and leave to rest for an hour and 15 minutes.
2. Make the filling: Heat oil over a medium heat. Lightly fry onions, then add the garlic and shallot and continue to fry. Add all remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Simmer until liquid has reduced, then remove from heat and allow to cool. 
3. Prepare the pasteis: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough until it is about 5mm thick. Use a cookie cutter or the underside of a small plate to cut out circles from the dough. Stretch out the dough circles some more before placing about a tablespoon of the filling into the centre. 
4. Assemble the pasteis by folding one corner to the opposite corner to form a crescent, then crimp the edges together with a fork. Deep-fry the pasteis in a non-stick saucepan until golden-brown, flipping once. Remove with a slotted spoon and allow excess oil to drain on a paper towel.