INGREDIENTS*
500g Pork mince
500g Potatoes
1 pepper
Spring onions
3-4 Tomatoes
500g Plain flour
*Open your fridge! Chances are, you already have tons of ingredients that would make a suitable empanada, so the above is just a guideline. What I love about this recipe is that it is simple, can definitely be made on the cheap, and can pretty much be done with whatever foodstuffs you have to hand. Awesome for using up leftovers...
METHOD
For the filling
Prepare the veg, finely chop the pepper, tomatoes and spring onions. Peel the potatoes and cut them into quarters, or whatever fraction takes your fancy.
Set the potatoes boiling, then dump the rest of the veg in a large frying pan on a low to medium heat. You wanna slowly fry them, keeping the juice from the tomatoes running free. After 10 minutes or so, chuck in the mince and continue to fry until brown. I would throw in some chili flakes, or even better some actual jalapenos, maybe some bayleaves, however you're feeling, don't be afraid.
Hey! Those taters should be pretty much boiled by now, so drain em and crumble them up in with the mince and veg. This is probably looking pretty damned edible right now, but hold off! We're gonna make some simple pastry cases, so as to facilitate the transference of delicious meat and vegetable filling to your face. Let's let this mess cool off while we make some pastry.
For the pastry
Technically, this is supposed to be made with cornmeal, BUT since this is all but impossible to find where I live, we're gonna keep it simple*. Put the flour into a mixing bowl with a level teaspoon of salt, and slowly add about 1/2 litre of water to the flour, kneading and mixing thoroughly as you go (make sure to keep your hands plenty floury). After 4 or 5 minutes you should have a nice ball of dough. We're ready to create!
[*If you want to authenticize this up a bit, try and find some panela (you will pretty much definitely need a Colombian market for this)]. You can shave off a bit of this, totally like a truffle, to give the pastry an extra kick.
Break off a doughball approximately the size of a clementine, then on a well-floured surface, knead or roll into a circle as thin as possible, whilst still being able to pick it up and generally move it around. Grab a healthy dollop of filling and whack it in the centre of the pastry, then fold the pastry into a semi-circle and seal with a bowl. At this point, put some vegetable oil on a medium heat (be hell of careful not to burn down your house! Empanadas do not need to be cooked massively quickly).
Seal the empanada with a bowl, and you should get something like the below:
Continue rolling and folding your empanadas, once you've done about four, the oil should be hot enough (drop some breadcrumbs in, if they sizzle and bubble, you're good to go). Carefully drop a couple of empanadas in, and fry for 4-6 minutes, turning occasionally. They should be golden brown and firm to the touch. Place on a plate with some paper to soak up any excess grease.
They will stay quite hot for a while, so no need to rush. Empanadas will keep for a coupe of days in the fridge, great for taking to work and heating up in the microwave, although maybe think twice if you're putting chicken in yours... I'll be knocking these up again for sure, and looking forward to trying them with cornmeal as intended.
Ok, chao, hasta luego.
THANKS, NICO, FOR THE RECIPE, IT WAS FUN COOKING WITH YOU!
P.S. We totally listened to Gyspy Kings and drank serious vino tinto while we made these. Recommended...
Hot damn, will I be getting my empanada on sometime soon...
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