Panqueqas de carne

We opened our World Cup food project with this Brazilian meal of panqueqas de carne and cabbage salad on 12 June, and it seems fitting to end on the same note. Actually, the main reason I’ve cooked it again is because I had no intention of creating a blog, and didn’t bother taking any photos. Plus, we had a gas leak that afternoon, which meant unexpectedly cooking dinner on a hot plate, and I started drinking caiparinhas before I’d done any cooking… The recipe is from the Latin Kitchen website, but this time round I modified it a bit and added more spice to the sauce and filling, as we all found it a bit bland.

Panqueqas de carne
(serves 6)

For the pancakes:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tb butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups milk

For the sauce:

• 1 Tb butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 Tb Old Bay seasoning (optional – or something similar to boost the flavours a bit)
• 1 Tb tomato paste
• 1 450g tin whole tomatoes
• 1 cup beef or vegetable stock
• 2 Tb green onion
• 2 Tb parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper

For the filling:

• 1 Tb butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 a green pepper, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 450g (1 lb) ground beef
• 10 green olives, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped

For the topping:

• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

1. Whizz all the pancake ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Allow to stand for half an hour while making the sauce and filling.
2. In a frying pan, melt the butter for the sauce, and sauté the onion and garlic until softened.
3. Add the paprika, Old Bay seasoning (if using) and  tomato paste, and stir for another minute or so.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon, then the stock, green onion and parsley.
5. Simmer for fifteen minutes, until nicely thickened, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer from the frying pan into a measuring jug or something, then make the filling.
7. Wipe the frying pan clean, return it to the heat, and add another tablespoon of butter.
8. Fry the onion, green pepper and garlic until softened.
9. Add the ground beef, turn the heat up a bit, and cook until the meat is browned.
10. Remove from the heat and stir in the olives and chopped tomatoes.
11. Now start cooking the pancakes. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and grease a large rectangular casserole dish with butter.
12. Heat a small, heavy frying pan (like a Le Creuset) over medium heat, and coat with a little butter.
13. Pour in enough batter to thinly coat the bottom of the pan, and fry for a few minutes each side until set.
14. Remove the first pancake to a dinner plate, pour in another portion of batter, and while it is cooking, add a few spoonfuls of filling to the cooked pancake, roll it up and place it seam side down in the casserole dish.
15. When you’ve made and filled all twelve pancakes, spread the sauce evenly over the top, scatter with the grated cheese and bake for 20-30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling.

Family score: 6.3 out of 10

Tags: Brazilian food, crepes, pancakes, South American food