Pastel com diabo dentro (Pastry with the devil inside)
A fried turnover with a slightly sweet corn and sweet potato dough, filled with tuna simmered with onion and spiced with chili — hence the 'devil' in the name. Crispy outside, melting and spicy inside.
A fried turnover with a slightly sweet corn and sweet potato dough, filled with tuna simmered with onion and spiced with chili — hence the 'devil' in the name. Crispy outside, melting and spicy inside.
Pastel com diabo dentro — you hear the name? The devil is inside, because of the chili that wakes up your tongue! The dough, I make it with corn flour and sweet potato, just sweet enough, and inside I hide the tuna with well-cooked onion. They sold them in the square, and believe me, they went faster than a song. It's the taste of festive evenings, when you snack standing up waiting for the music to start.
- •Farine de maïs fine + patate douce écrasée — à parts égales (pâte du chausson)
- •Thon frais — un morceau (farce)
- •Oignon, ail, tomate — pour la farce (fond de la farce)
- •Piment (malagueta) — selon le courage (le « diable » piquant)
- •Huile pour friture — un bain (cuisson)
Pastel com diabo dentro (Pastry with the devil inside)
A fried turnover with a slightly sweet corn and sweet potato dough, filled with tuna simmered with onion and spiced with chili — hence the 'devil' in the name. Crispy outside, melting and spicy inside.
Why this dish? The 'pastel with the devil inside' is the quintessential Cape Verdean street snack: a corn and sweet potato dough filled with spiced tuna. It's sold in markets and at festivals — the snack you eat standing up between two mornas, in the neighborhood life Cesária never left.
Pastel com diabo dentro — you hear the name? The devil is inside, because of the chili that wakes up your tongue! The dough, I make it with corn flour and sweet potato, just sweet enough, and inside I hide the tuna with well-cooked onion. They sold them in the square, and believe me, they went faster than a song. It's the taste of festive evenings, when you snack standing up waiting for the music to start.
Ingredients (period version)
- Farine de maïs fine + patate douce écrasée — à parts égales (pâte du chausson)
- Thon frais — un morceau (farce)
- Oignon, ail, tomate — pour la farce (fond de la farce)
- Piment (malagueta) — selon le courage (le « diable » piquant)
- Huile pour friture — un bain (cuisson)
Ingredients
- Farine de maïs fine (masa/maïzena fine) — 200 g (pâte)
- Patate douce cuite et écrasée — 200 g (liant et douceur de la pâte)
- Thon (frais ou en boîte au naturel) — 250 g (farce)
- Oignon + 1 tomate + 1 gousse d'ail — 1 oignon, le reste (fond de farce)
- Piment frais — 1/2 à 1 (piquant signature)
- Sel, huile de friture — au goût + 1 L (assaisonnement et cuisson)
Method
- Prepare the filling: sauté onion, garlic, and tomato, add flaked tuna and chopped chili, cook until dry and fragrant; let cool.
- Mix corn flour and mashed sweet potato with a little warm water and salt to form a soft, pliable dough.
- Roll out small discs of dough, place a spoonful of filling in the center, fold into a turnover and seal the edges well.
- Fry in hot oil (170°C) until the pastéis are golden and crispy.
- Drain on paper and serve warm.
How it was made : An heir to Portuguese pastéis adapted to island resources, the Cape Verdean pastel replaces wheat flour with local corn and sweet potato. Chili, which arrived from America via Atlantic routes, became a marker of island street food.
The contemporary twist : Serve them as appetizer bites with a lime wedge — a 'tapas' version from the barefoot diva.
Cesária Évora · Charactorium