Finally I’m getting back into my old series about Mexican food. Though for a while it may have seemed that I’d covered everything, truth is, the culinary specialties of this country are so diverse and multi layered, that in all likelihood something would remain uncovered. But rather than force it, I wanted to let it come to me organically, so to speak. And it did, in form of empanadas.
Different Versions of the Same Thing
In our international, world-traveling group it was not even clear at first what empanadas were supposed to be exactly, since the dish has so many variations all over Latin America, and many other countries worldwide. They range from tiny to super size, the dough can be pinched on top or on the sides, and the filling can be anything from sweet to savory, using only eggs or a whole plethora of ingredients. Also, the empenada could be baked, fried or deep fried.
Though they differed in size and fillings, one thing they all had in common was the “bread” around the mix of stuffing. Being in Mexico, we wanted ours to resemble the fried, palm-sized, half-circle shaped ones, pinched on the side, which could be filled with just about anything. You could say they are fried savory dumplings with a Mexican taste.
Most of us knew empanadas from the numerous street vendors, frying and selling them on busy corners in the city. Though the empanadas come already prepared (presumably at the vendor’s home and not some central empanada factory), the simple dough covering the filling didn’t seem like it would be too hard to make. And being stuck “at home” like the rest of the world these days, there was no reason not to give it a try.
Not Hard, Just A Bit Time Consuming
As it turned out, making empanadas is really not that big of a deal, but it will most likely take the better part of your afternoon. So it may be worthwhile preparing a whole truckload… to eat, or to sell, whenever we’re allowed back on the street again. Here’s a quick run-down on how to make them:
First prepare the stuffing. Here you may let your full creativity unfold, but this is how we made it:
- Fry up some onions, garlic, bell peppers, and potatoes with some ground beef and spice it up with paprika and cumin.
- Cut up some hard-boiled eggs in a separate dish.
- Grind up some Manchego cheese (or any other cheese you like).
- Now mix a soft, smooth dough of flour, and butter, a bit of salt and some water.
- Add an egg to make it all stick better.
- Give it a good kneading, and roll it out flat.
- Using a glass (or any ol’ cup you’ve got hanging around) cut out circular shapes of the dough.
- Add the fillings on top of the circular dough piece, fold it in half, and pinch the side shut.
- Now they just need to be pan fried and they're enjoyed when they've cooled down a bit!
For more on Mexican food, check out my series What to Eat in Mexico:
- Mole, Way Beyond Nutella
- X-mas Speciality Bacalao
- When Tortillas Get Big, Fat, and Full of Stuff
- Chiles en Nogada - A Dish of National Pride
- Migas - Another Option for Stale Tortillas
- Chicharrón - The Best Snack to Munch on
- Barbacoa - Pit-cooked Lamb from the Central Highlands
- Cochinita Pibil - The Buried Piglet from the Yucatan
- Tlayudas - The Oaxacan-sized Tortilla
- Tamales - The Best Way to Eat Corn
- Chapulines, Escamoles, and Maguey Worms
- Carnitas of Michoacan
- Huitlacoche - A Mold That Just Tastes so Good
- Nopales - A Vegetraian Delicacy
- Pozole - Not Just for Indipendence Day!
- Chilaquiles - For Stale Tortillas and a Hangover
- Guacamole - With and Without Spirulina
- Making Salsa
- Tortillas and Other Incarnations of Maize
- Tacos - As Basic As You Can Get