Colombian Empanadas Food

EMPANADAS - ANTIOQUIA, COLOMBIA

Steps:

• The Dough.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and begin to add the chicken broth until you have a smooth, humid, easy to work dough. Cover the bowl and let the "masa" rest for about one hour.
• The Filling.
• In a frying pan, heat the butter, margarine or oil over medium heat and partially fry the onions and tomatoes. Add the hamburger meat and brown thoroughly. Drain.
• In a large bowl, combine the browned meat mixture with the rice, potatoes, chopped cilantro and spices.
• The Empanada.
• Now, if you have a tortilla press, you're sitting pretty for the next step. If you don't have one, two pieces of 1" wood about 8" square will do just fine. Lacking that, anything flat and a counter top will work. Or, if you feel adventurous, you can use your own two little hands!
• Roll the "masa" (dough) into little balls about 1" in diameter. Place the masa ball on top of a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper. Cover with another piece of plastic or wax paper and press it into a flat circle (depending on the size of the original masa ball, the flat circle will turn out to be about 3 to 4 inches in diameter). Remove the top piece of plastic. Now add about one rounded tablespoon of the filling to the middle of the circle leaving about 1/2" of space on the sides. Using the plastic, fold the circle in half and press the edges together so it forms a half-moon. Remove from the plastic and, using your fingers, press the edges firmly together so the empanada is sealed. I like to make them pretty so, after the empanada is sealed, I take the tip of my finger and fold the edges at small intervals so that the empanada has a "scalloped" look to the edges.
• Cook them in bunches but don't prepare too many at a time and let them sit while the others cook since this tends to dry out the masa too much. Also, as you are cooking, keep the bowl of masa covered with a humid towel to keep it from getting too dry.
• Cooking.
• The traditional method, of course, is to fry the empanadas in a large, iron cauldron (approximately 50 years old), on top of a wood fire, outdoors, in about twenty pounds of pork lard that was used to fry the empanadas for the last month and a half.
• However, tradition does not always mean that it is right. Most of the time tradition simply means "lack of technology and alternate methods.".
• I use a deep-fat fryer filled with Canola or Peanut oil. For even healthier empanadas, they can be baked in the oven at 350 degrees F on a greased cookie sheet. Baking them, of course, takes longer and you will have to turn the empanadas once. Bake or fry until golden brown.
• If you fry them (the best method because they turn out nice and crunchy), make sure you place the finished empanadas on a cookie sheet whose bottom you have lined with a thick layer of paper towels. This will allow the excess oil to drain.
• The tradition in Colombia is to have an empanada in one hand and a wedge of lemon in the other. As you take a bite, you squeeze a few drops of lemon juice inside. A bowl of your favorite salsa and a teaspoon will also do the job quite well. This recipe should yield approximately 4 to 5 dozen empanadas.
• Waste not, want not.
• I made a bunch of empanadas the other day and found that I had mad way too much masa for the amount of filling I had. I did not want to waste the masa nor did I want to put it in the refrigerator until the next time I made empanadas. So, I thought about it for a while. I had about two pounds of masa left so I added a large package of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, a whole lot more cumin, some more onion powder and garlic powder and a little more salt. I then browned one pound of ground sausage and added it to the mixture.
• I rolled the mixture into 1" balls and deep fried them. They were great! I love it when my weird experiments turn into new recipes!

COLOMBIAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Prepare the vegetables:.Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot. Add 3 minced cloves of garlic, chopped tomato, chopped green onions, chopped onion, chopped red bell pepper, chopped cilantro leaves, ½ teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 package Sazón Goya con azafran. Sautee over medium heat, stirring until onion is very soft (about 12-15 minutes). Season with salt and pepper to taste. When done remove all contents from pot and set aside in a separate bowl.
• Prepare steak and potatoes:.In the large stock pot (or can use a slow cooker) add 1 whole head of garlic (smashed), 1 whole onion peeled and cut in half, 1 whole tomato cut in half,(sounds weird but is necessary for the broth) 3 beef bouillon cubes, flank steak and cover with water. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer the steak until very tender (about an hour). Peel and quarter potatoes and add to the pot, adding more water if necessary to cover the potatoes. Simmer until potatoes are very tender (about 25 minutes). Remove pot from heat and let the meat and potatoes cool in the broth.
• Remove the meat from the broth and slice into 1" cubes, then put cut up steak into a food processor and pulse it until it looks like ground beef *DO NOT OVER PROCESS, YOU DO NOT WANT TO MAKE BABY FOOD OUT OF THE STEAK*.
• Remove potatoes from the broth and set aside in a separate bowl, strain the broth and reserve it.
• Add the potatoes, the meat and vegetables into the same bowl. Add a little of the beef broth to the mixture and mix well, mashing the potatoes in the process.
• Prepare the dough:.Place 3 cups yellow masarepa (pre-cooked cornmeal) into a large bowl, add 2 teaspoons of sugar and salt and pepper to taste, incorporate the dry ingredients well before adding the liquid.
• Combine 1 cup of reserved broth, 2 ¼ cups of hot water and 1 tablespoon of softened butter.
• Slowly add the cornmeal to the water and stir with a big spoon. When all of the corn meal has been added, work the dough with your hands until it becomes soft. Let rest for 20 minutes.
• Making the empanadas:.To make the empanadas, put a small ball of dough (about the size of a golf ball) in the center of a tortilla press covered with plastic and press to flatten it. You can also put the small ball of dough between two pieces of plastic and flatten it with a small saucepan.
• Add a tablespoon or so of the filling. Fold the circle of dough in half to form a half moon.
• Cut off the edge of the half moon with a cup or drinking glass. This will shape your empanada and seal it at the same time. Another way to make them is pressing the edge with your fingers and folding the extra dough inwards, this will prevent the filling from coming out during frying.
• you can fry them in a deep frier at 350ºF. You can also fry them on the stove at medium high temperature. Fry the empanadas for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Then put them on a paper towels to drain them.
• *Note: You can shape the empanadas a day ahead, and chill them until you are ready to fry. Once empanadas are cooked, keep them warm in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

COLOMBIAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Boil the water, add salt, oil and paprika
• Add the corn meal and stir until well incorporated. About 3-5 minutes
• Let the dough cool down and knead it untill the dough is uniform.
• Season meat with salt and pepper. I like to add paprika and onion salt too.
• Grill it or pan sear it until it reaches a medium well temperature.
• peel and cut the potatoes in cubes and boil them with salt until tender.
• In a food processor, add the meat cut in strips, cilantro and red pepper if using. Grind them until the meat resembles ground beef.
• Mash the potatoes and mix with the ground beef. Let the filling cool down.
• Divide the dough in golf sized balls. Flatten them with a tortilla press or a round plate. Use a clean plastic bag or parchment paper to prevent the dough to sticking to your working surface
• If using an empanada mold, fill the dough with the meat and potatoes in the center and press to create a half moon shape.
• If you don't have an empanada mold, put the filling in one side of your dough and fold it in half. Press with a round bowl or cap to seal the filling in place.
• Heat up 3 cups of vegetable oil in a frying pan until they reach about 165 Farenheit
• Add the empanadas and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown
• Remove from the heat and place on a paper towel

COLOMBIAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Combine the masarepa, water, salt and Sazon. Start off with 2 cups of water, and add more if needed. Stir together, then knead the dough until it's nice and smooth and slightly moist. If it's too dry, it will crack when you seal the empanadas.
• Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Peel the potatoes, and place them into a pot with 3 cups of water, and 1 chicken bouillon.
• Boil for 20 minutes, or until fork tender.
• Drain them and place the potatoes into a bowl.
• Season the potatoes with salt and sazon, then mash until most of the chunks are gone. Add the cumin and ropa vieja.
• Fold to combine.
• Take a scoop of masa and make a ball about the size of a golf ball.
• Place the dough ball between 2 sheets of plastic wrap.
• Press the dough ball down, until it's about 1/4" thick, and 3" in diameter.
• Place a few teaspoons of filling in the center, then cradle the disc in your hand and pinch the empanada closed.
• Make sure to fully seal the edges so it doesn't open while cooking.
• Fry the empanadas in vegetable oil heated to 375 degrees F for 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel, and serve with Aji Verde.
• Process the cilantro, jalapeno and scallions in a food processor.
• Add vinegar to get the consistency you'd like.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Store for up to 1 week in the fridge.

COLOMBIAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the meat, onions, carrot and potato and saute until the meat is no longer pink and the vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat and stir in the tomato, cilantro, eggs, capers, salt and pepper.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the chilled pastry to 1/4 inch thick and cut out 3 inch diameter rounds (you should get about 40). Place 2 tablespoons of the filling on half of the rounds, and cover the filling with the remaining half of the rounds. Seal the edges with the tines of a fork. Place the filled empanadas on a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.