colombian empanadas

Colombian empanadas have a delicious pork filling and corn-meal shell.  I was recently introduced to these crispy delights by my brother’s girlfriend sister-in-law.  They are a bit different than Filipino empanadas, which are baked in a flour based shell.

These need to be eaten immediately, which shouldn’t be a problem, because reheating will ruin the shell — unless you want to re-fry them

The Basics

The Shell

• 1 1/2 cups of corn masarepa – This can be found in the Latino food aisle.
• 2 cups of water or chicken broth
• 1 tbs of vegetable oil
• 1 package of sazon Goya with azafran
• Deep frying cooking oil

The Filling

• Potatoes – washed, peeled and cubed
• Chicken bouillon cube
• Ground pork – about 1 lb.
• Fresh cilantro – about a handful, stems removed and chopped
• Chopped onion – about 1/2 cup
• Minced garlic – about 2 tbsp
• Tomato paste
• Cooking oil – about 2 tbsp

The Rundown

Using your hand mix together all the ingredients listed under shell (except the deep frying oil, of course). The dough should be pliable but not too mushy.  If its too dry, add more chicken broth or water.  If too mushy, add more masarepa.  Cover with plastic wrap and set aside until filling is cooked.

Boil a couple cups of water with the chicken bouillon.  Once boiling, carefully add potatoes.  Boil without a cover for about 8 minutes, then drain and set aside.

While potatoes are boiling, prepare the rest of the filling.  Add a few tbsp of oil in a saute pan, saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and cilantro and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add tomato paste and cook for about 3 minutes.  Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Cook pork in pan until done (nothing pink or raw).  Add veggie mix together and cook for about 5 minutes.

Mash potatoes a bit and add pork mixture.

Using your hand, pinch about a tbsp or two of dough and roll into a ball in about a inch or so in diameter.  Continue until all dough is used up.

Get two pieces of plastic wrap.  A ball of dough between the plastic wrap on a table with plenty of room.  Squish ball down with the palm of your hand.  Then you can use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about a 1/4 of an inch thick.  If it’s too think, just roll the dough back into a ball and try again!

Remove the top plastic wrap and add a tbsp of filling on one side of the dough.  Fold other side of the dough over to make a half circle. Pinch the end to close.  You can fold over the plastic wrap if you want to make it seamless.

Keep repeating until you have an army of empanadas.  Heat deep frying oil to about 325 degrees in a deep pot.

Slowly add empanada in oil.  Cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown.  Remove and set on a plate lined with paper towels.  Cook all the empanadas in one batch (I tried to freeze some and they got ruined).

Let cool a little bit, but eat while still hot.  If they cool, reheat by frying again.

Tags: deep-fry, latino recipe, medium difficulty, pork, recipe