Chef-tested recipe
Golden Bolivian baked pastries filled with a savoury, lightly sweet and juicy beef stew.
Recipe at a glance
- Servings
- 12 servings
- Prep Time
- 1 hour plus chilling
- Cook Time
- 25 minutes
- Total Time
- About 2 hours 30 minutes plus chilling
- Cuisine
- Bolivian
- Course
- Snack / Breakfast
- Cooking Method
- Baking
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Best Served With
- Llajua-style chilli sauce
Before you begin
Ingredients & equipment
Gather what you need first, then cook through the method with confidence.
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Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour paid link
- 100 g lard or unsalted butter
- 20 g sugar paid link
- 8 g fine salt, divided paid link
- 6 g ground annatto or sweet paprika paid link
- 220 ml warm water, approximately
- 500 g beef, finely diced
- 250 g onion, diced
- 250 g potato, diced small
- 100 g peas
- 500 ml beef stock
- 20 g unflavoured gelatin paid link
- 3 g ground cumin
- 2 g dried oregano paid link
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered paid link
- 60 g pitted black olives
- 1 egg, beaten, for glazing
Method
Cook beef and onion until lightly browned. Add potato, peas, stock, cumin, oregano and half the salt; simmer until the potato is tender.
Bloom gelatin in a little cool water, stir it into the hot filling, then chill until completely firm.
Rub the fat into flour with sugar, annatto and remaining salt. Add warm water gradually and knead to a smooth dough. Rest 30 minutes.
Divide dough into 12 pieces and roll into circles. Add chilled filling, a piece of egg and an olive to each.
Seal firmly with a rope-style crimp. Brush with beaten egg and bake at 220°C for 20–25 minutes until glossy and deeply golden. Rest briefly before eating.
Beginner Technique Notes
- The filling must be fully cold and gelled before assembly.
- Avoid overfilling or the seams may burst.
- Serve carefully because the reheated gravy inside can be very hot.
Substitutions
- Butter can replace lard in the dough.
- Chicken can replace beef while keeping the same gelatin-setting method.
Storage
Keep baked salteñas refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat in a 180°C oven until hot throughout.
Allergen Notes
Contains wheat and egg; milk is present if butter is used.
Always Cook with Heart. Always!
