Pastel (food)
Cheese pastel made in São Paulo
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Indonesian pastel, pie crust filled with meat and vegetables
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Pastel is the name given to different typical dishes of many countries of Hispanic or Portuguese origin.
In Brazil, pastel (pl. pastéis) is a typical fast-food Brazilian dish, consisting of half-circle or rectangle-shaped thin crust pies with assorted fillings, fried in vegetable oil. The result is a crispy, brownish fried pie. The most common fillings are ground meat, mozzarella, heart of palm, catupiry cream cheese, chicken and small shrimp. Pastéis with sweet fillings such as guava jam with Minas cheese, banana and chocolate also exist, but are not so common. The pastel is classified in Brazilian cuisine as a salgado (savoury snack). It is traditionally sold on the streets or in fast-food shops known as pastelarias. It is popularly said to have originated when Japanese immigrants adapted Chinese fried wontons to sell as snacks at weekly street markets. This is the most likely hypothesis as even today many of the "pastelarias" are owned or run by Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Italian Brazilians have said the Brazilian dishes pastel and fogazza originated from fried calzones. It is possible, however, that pastel originated from Indian samosas when the dish became part of the Portuguese cuisine. A common beverage to drink with pastéis is sugarcane juice.
A pastel in Portugal may refer to several types of desserts or hors d'œuvres. These include the pastel de bacalhau and the pastel de nata.
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