Pastelitos

Pastelitos are small, diamond-shaped pastries filled with quince or sweet potato paste, fried or baked, then glazed with sugar syrup. They're strongly tied to Argentina's national holidays — the May Revolution and July Independence Day — where street vendors and home cooks alike make them specifically for the occasion, more than at any other time of year.

What it really is

A laminated dough, layered thin, wraps around a spoonful of quince paste or sweet potato paste and folds into a diamond shape with the corners pinched up decoratively before it fries or bakes until golden and crisp. Straight out of the fryer or oven, it dips into a hot sugar syrup, sometimes flavoured with orange peel or aniseed, that soaks in just enough to glaze the surface without turning the pastry soggy.

The decorative pinched corners are a real technique, not decoration for its own sake. The four points folded up at the corners of each diamond keep the shape from unfolding as it fries or bakes, and a pastelito made without them tends to come apart at the seams.

How it's served

• Warm, straight from the fryer or oven, glaze still glossy.
• Piled on a platter for sharing, especially around the national holidays.
• As a dessert or sweet street food snack, rarely part of a savoury meal.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the wheat.
• Say what the filling is — quince and sweet potato are both traditional and taste quite different.
• Note if they're a seasonal item tied to the national holidays or available year-round.