Chef Margarida
Azeitonas Temperadas
The marinated olives that sit on every tasca table in Portugal, swimming in garlic, herbs, and enough azeite to make you reach for bread before you've even ordered. This is how we begin.
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Folhados de Chouriço
Created by
Buttery puff pastry wrapped around smoky chouriço, baked until the layers shatter and the fat renders into every fold. Pastelaria perfection that belongs with your afternoon coffee.
Appetizers & Snacks
Portuguese
Make Ahead
Potluck
Freezer Friendly
20 min
Active Time
25 min cook•45 min total
Yield12 pastries
Every pastelaria in Portugal has these in the display case. Right there next to the natas and the rissóis, sitting under the glass, waiting for someone to point and say "um folhado, faz favor." One folhado, please. Usually followed by "e uma bica." And an espresso.
This is the snack that sustained generations of Portuguese workers. Factory workers, fishermen, office clerks. A mid-morning bite between breakfast and lunch, something to hold you over, something with enough fat and smoke and salt to remind you that life has pleasures even on a Tuesday.
The genius is in the simplicity. Good chouriço does all the work. You're just wrapping it in pastry and applying heat. The fat from the sausage renders as it bakes, soaking into all those buttery layers, making the pastry around it richer than any pastry has a right to be. The outside shatters. The inside is smoky and soft.
At Mesa da Avó, we serve these at the start of the evening, while people are still arriving, still finding their seats. Something to eat standing up, napkin in hand, catching the flakes before they hit the floor. That's how folhados are meant to be eaten. Not sitting properly at a table. Standing in a pastelaria. Or leaning against a counter in a Portuguese kitchen, sneaking one before anyone else notices they're ready.
Folhados emerged from Portugal's rich pastelaria culture, where every neighborhood bakery developed its own savory pastries alongside the sweets. The pairing of puff pastry and chouriço likely dates to the 19th century, when French pastry techniques merged with Portuguese cured meats. The chouriço itself is far older, a preservation tradition from Trás-os-Montes where families slaughtered pigs each winter and cured the meat to last until spring.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
puff pastry sheets
Quantity
2 sheets (about 500g total)
thawed if frozen
chouriço
Quantity
2 sausages (about 200g total)
egg
Quantity
1 large
beaten with 1 tablespoon water
all-purpose flour
Quantity
for dusting
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| puff pastry sheetsthawed if frozen | 2 sheets (about 500g total) |
| chouriço | 2 sausages (about 200g total) |
| eggbeaten with 1 tablespoon water | 1 large |
| all-purpose flour | for dusting |
Equipment Needed
- •Rolling pin
- •Baking sheet
- •Parchment paper
- •Pastry brush
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the chouriço
Remove the casing from the chouriço if it has one. Some traditional chouriço comes in natural casings that you leave on; the thin ones will crisp up beautifully in the oven. Thicker casings should come off. Cut each sausage in half lengthwise, then cut each half into three pieces. You want 12 pieces total, each about the length of your thumb.
Use proper Portuguese chouriço, not Spanish chorizo. They're not the same thing. Chouriço is smoky and firm, cured with paprika and garlic. If you can find chouriço de carne from Trás-os-Montes, you've found gold. - 2
Cut the pastry
On a lightly floured surface, roll each puff pastry sheet slightly thinner, to about 3mm thickness. Cut each sheet into 6 rectangles, roughly 8cm by 12cm. You should have 12 pieces total. Work quickly if your kitchen is warm. Puff pastry needs to stay cold to puff properly.
- 3
Wrap the chouriço
Place one piece of chouriço along the shorter edge of each pastry rectangle. Roll it up snugly, leaving the seam on the bottom. The pastry should wrap around at least one and a half times. Press the edges gently to seal. Some people tuck the ends in; others leave them open so the chouriço peeks out. Both are correct. Avó Leonor left them open. She said it lets more fat render into the pastry.
Don't roll too tight. The pastry needs room to puff. Too tight and you get a dense, chewy wrapper instead of shattered layers. - 4
Chill the pastries
Place the rolled folhados on a parchment-lined baking sheet, seam side down. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, or up to overnight. This firms up the butter in the pastry and helps it puff dramatically in the hot oven. Skip this step and you'll have flat, greasy pastries instead of golden, layered ones.
- 5
Bake until golden
Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). Brush each folhado with the egg wash, making sure to cover the top and sides. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until deeply golden and puffed. The fat from the chouriço will have started to render into the pastry, making it impossibly rich. You'll see some of it bubbling at the edges. That's good. That's the whole point.
Rotate the pan halfway through baking if your oven has hot spots. You want even color on all of them. - 6
Rest briefly and serve
Let the folhados cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. They need this time. Bite into one straight from the oven and you'll burn your mouth on molten chouriço fat. Not pleasant. After 5 minutes, they're still warm, still crispy, but no longer dangerous. Serve with a bica and nothing else. These don't need accompaniment.
Chef Tips
- •Use the best chouriço you can find. The pastry is neutral; the sausage provides all the flavor. A mediocre chouriço makes a mediocre folhado. Look for chouriço that smells smoky and feels firm, not soft.
- •Yes, you can make puff pastry from scratch. No, you don't have to. Even Portuguese grandmothers use the frozen sheets these days. Life is short. Buy good pastry and spend your energy elsewhere.
- •These freeze beautifully before baking. Assemble them, freeze on the baking sheet, then transfer to a bag. Bake from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the time. Now you have folhados whenever you want them.
- •Some pastelarias brush with milk instead of egg wash for a softer, less shiny crust. Both are traditional. Egg gives you that deep golden lacquer. Milk is more subtle.
Advance Preparation
- •Assembled folhados can be refrigerated overnight before baking. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- •Freeze unbaked folhados for up to 2 months. Bake directly from frozen, adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
- •Baked folhados are best eaten within hours. They lose their crispness overnight. Rewarm in a 180°C oven for 5 minutes to restore some crunch, but they'll never be as good as fresh.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 55g)
Calories
305 calories
Total Fat
22 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
12 g
Cholesterol
40 mg
Sodium
360 mg
Total Carbohydrates
19 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
7 g
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