Curried Beef Puffs

I love flaky puff pastry. Is anyone out there who doesn't love those delicate, flaky, puffed, crispy, and buttery layers? I recently had some Argentine empanadas from Promo's Parrilla, and they were most excellent. Javier of Promo's Parrilla makes authentic Argentine empanadas, and the buttery empanadas pastry was quite memorable. He wasn't going to give out his grandmother's secret recipe, so I started searching the internet for some clues.

Of course, I could always just use a box of Pepperidge Farm pastry sheets as most of recipes suggest. However, what's the challenge and sense of accomplishment in that if I just open a box from the freezer to make the puff pastry?


I have heard how time consuming and labor intensive it is to make flaky pastry by hand ever since I started cooking more than 20 years ago, so I never even attempted it. As I Googled for puff pastry, I came upon A Shortcut to Flaky Puff Pastry. A shortcut doesn't sound bad at all. After all, I really don't have an entire day to work on the dough.

I followed the instructions on the website, and the pastry turned out quite well. The filling is made of Sand Village Farm onion, ground beef, curry powder, and a little salt. I also brushed on a layer of egg wash right before they go into the oven.

I have not yet decided how I want to fold the puff pastry, and I didn't realize they puff up so much once baked. I cut the dough into 4"x 4" squares. Next time I will cut them in 2"x 2" instead. They should also look more uniformed. I also want to make a vegetarian mushroom filling instead.