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Pastéis de feijão
Pastéis de feijão: Torres Vedras' little tarts of white bean, almond and egg yolk
Torres Vedras, in the wine country west of Lisbon, has turned a humble white bean into its sweet emblem: tiny tarts with a moist filling of bean purée, ground almond and egg yolks, sold in pastelarias and at the town's carnival. Nobody would guess beans from the taste; they give a soft, marzipan-like body to the filling. Serve with a strong coffee in the afternoon. A common mistake is filling the cases to the top: the mixture puffs and spills, so stop at three-quarters. Chef's tip: blitz the beans with a little of the syrup until completely smooth; any skins left in make the filling chalky.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 16
Ingredients
For the pastry
For the filling
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Rub 1 ⅜ oz butter into 7 oz plain flour and 1 pinch salt, then add ¼ cup cold water and knead briefly into a smooth, soft dough. Wrap and rest for 20 minutes.
5 minStep 2: Boil 8 oz caster sugar and ½ cup water for 3 minutes into a light syrup. Blend 7 oz cooked white beans with 3 tablespoons of the syrup until perfectly smooth.
5 minStep 3: Stir the bean purée and 3 ½ oz ground almonds into the rest of the syrup and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until thick. Cool for 10 minutes, then beat in 5 egg yolks.
15 minStep 4: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan) and butter 16 small tartlet tins or mini muffin holes.
Step 5: Roll the dough very thinly, about 2 mm, cut circles a little larger than the tins and press them in.
Step 6: Spoon in the filling to three-quarters full.
Step 7: Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the pastry is golden and the filling has risen, set and browned on top. A skewer pushed into the centre should come out just moist, not wet.
25 minStep 8: Cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out. Dust with 1 tbsp icing sugar if you like. They keep 3 days in a tin and taste even better the next day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pastéis de feijão take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 40 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 16 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of butter?
- The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
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