Pastel com diabo dentro

Name: Pastel com diabo dentro
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Ingredients: 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed; 150 g cornmeal; 100 g all-purpose flour; 150 ml water, boiling; ½ tsp salt; 2 cans canned tuna, drained; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 1 tomato, finely chopped; 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped; 2 tbsp parsley, chopped; ¼ tsp salt; 750 ml neutral vegetable oil

Non-vegetarian

Crisp fried turnovers made from a sweet potato and cornmeal dough and filled with spicy tuna, onion and tomato. Their name means 'pastry with the devil inside' — a Cabo Verdean snack loved at parties.

Pastel com diabo dentro is a Cape Verdean pastry from Cabo Verde, ready in about 1 hour 35 minutes and made with sweet potato, cornmeal and canned tuna. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep: 45 min
Cook: 35 min
Rest: 15 min
Total: 1 h 35 min
Serves: 6
Level: Intermediate
Calories: 350

About this dish

Origin: Cabo Verde · Commonly attributedMore food from Cabo Verde
Dish: Snack · Pastries · Finger food · Appetizers & starters
Cooking method: Deep-fried, Boiled
Taste: savoury, spicy (chilli heat), sweet & savoury
Diet: Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Pescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Festive & celebration · Portable / lunchbox · Make-ahead
Cook more with: Sweet potato · Cornmeal · Canned tuna · All-purpose flour · Onion · Garlic
Techniques: Deep-frying · Boiling · Kneading

Allergens

Contains: Fishfrom canned tuna
Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

350 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 205 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

Protein 14%
Carbohydrate 49%
Fat 36%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	350 kcal	170 kcal
Protein	12.7 g	6.2 g
Carbohydrate	43.8 g	21.3 g
Net carbohydrate	39.5 g	19.2 g
Sugars	3.4 g	1.7 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	4.2 g	2 g
Fat	14.4 g	7 g
Saturated fat	1.5 g	0.7 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	14 mg	7 mg
Sodium	426 mg	208 mg
Salt equivalent	1.1 g	0.5 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 397 mg
Calcium: 37 mg
Iron: 2.8 mg
Magnesium: 61 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 331 µg
Vitamin C: 9 mg
Vitamin D: 0.5 µg
Vitamin B12: 1 µg
Folate (DFE): 70 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Keep the dough covered while you work so it doesn't dry out and crack when folded.

Common mistakes

Overfilling — the pastries split in the oil.

Storage

Best fresh; uncooked pastries can be frozen on a tray, then fried from frozen.

Reheating

Re-crisp in a hot oven for 8 minutes.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The body of the dish

Gravy, sauce & base

Neutral vegetable oil750 ml · 50 g

Used in step 4

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 50 min
Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.
Rest · about 15 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 20 min
Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.
Start to finish: about 1 h 25 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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Pastel com diabo dentro

Ingredients

For the dough

For the filling

Equipment

Method

About this dish

Allergens

Nutrition

Good to know