Azevias de grão are golden half-moon Christmas pastries whose filling surprises almost everyone: chickpeas.

They are an old convent-style sweet from the Alentejo and the Algarve, made when the pantry had chickpeas, eggs and sugar but the budget did not stretch to anything fancier. The filling is a soft, cinnamon-scented chickpea and egg yolk paste, wrapped in a thin olive oil dough and fried until blistered. Think of a humble cousin of the egg yolk sweets behind Dom Rodrigo (recipe on the site) and Papos de Anjo (recipe on the site).

They are a lovely alternative to the usual Christmas lineup of Filhós (recipe on the site) and Rabanadas (recipe on the site), and they keep for days in a tin. Crimping the edges with a fork is not traditional, but it seals them well.

Azevias de Grão Recipe

What you need

Ingredients

For the dough:
3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup (120 ml) warm water
¼ cup (60 ml) dry white wine or fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon fine salt
For the filling:
2 cans (15 oz each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (120 ml) water
4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
Zest of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick, plus 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
To fry and finish:
About 3 cups neutral oil for frying (canola or sunflower)
½ cup (100 g) sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cook along

Instructions

Make the dough: whisk the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, warm water, and wine and mix until it comes together, then knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap and rest it at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling: purée the chickpeas in a food processor until very smooth, scraping down the sides. For the silkiest result, pass the purée through a fine sieve.
Simmer the sugar, water, and cinnamon stick in a medium saucepan for 5 minutes to a light syrup. Remove the stick, stir in the chickpea purée and orange zest, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 10 to 12 minutes until it pulls away from the bottom of the pan.
Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for 3 minutes. Whisk in the egg yolks quickly, then return to low heat and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes until very thick (the yolks need to reach 160°F). Stir in the ground cinnamon and cool completely.
Roll the dough very thin, about ⅛ inch, on a floured surface. Cut 4-inch circles. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling on each, fold into half-moons, and press the edges firmly closed, then crimp with a fork.
Heat 2 inches of oil to 350°F. Fry the azevias in small batches for 1 to 2 minutes per side until golden and blistered. Drain on a rack.
Toss them in the cinnamon sugar while still warm and let cool before serving.