Portugal’s Flakiest Street Food (It’s Not What You Think)

Forget everything you know about frigideiras. These aren’t doughy, dry, or stuck in the past. I’m taking a northern Portuguese street snack and giving it a flaky, flavor-bomb upgrade—with buttery puff pastry, soy-glazed beef, and smoky chouriço in every bite. The best part? You don’t have to make dough from scratch. Just a few tricks (like laminating store-bought pastry with cold butter) turn this into the loudest crunch you’ll hear all week. It’s not traditional. It’s just better.

Ingredients (makes 4-6 frigideiras)
For the filling:
• 300g ground beef (or beef/pork mix)
• 80g Portuguese chouriço, finely diced
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1½ tbsp dark soy sauce
• Olive oil
• 1 Tsp of cummin (optional but lovely)
• ½ Tsp white pepper
• ½ red pepper
• 1Tbsp Garlic Paste
• 1Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp onion Powder
• 1 Tbsp Smoked Paprika
• 100g Mozzarella grated
• Flour
• 100ml Red Wine
• Lemon Juice
For assembly:
• 2 sheet of all-butter puff pastry, thawed
• 80g cold butter, cut into tiny cubes
• 1 egg, for egg wash