Travelling Kitchen: Empanada from Colombia

Receta en Español

The empanada reached Colombia with the spanish conquest, the original empanadas came from Galicia, the recipe changed in Colombia to adapt to the local ingredients.

At the beginning the empanadas were cooked in the oven, later they were fried, due to the African influence. The original empanadas were made from wheat flour, this was later changed to precooked corn flour.

The empanadas were original from Grecia and the Persian Empire, this way of cooking allowed to move the food wrapped in bread. That's the meaning of 'empanar' to wrap in bread.

This way of cooking reached Spain with the arab invasion on the VIII century.

El most typical filling is made from meat and vegetables.

Ingredients:

- Oil.

- 1/2 kilo shredded meat.

- 6 tomatos.

- 3 onios.

- 1/2 kilo precooked corn flour.

- 1 fresh coriander.

- Garlic.

- chili.

- 6 medium potatos.

- Cumin.

- Thyme.

- Ground garlic.

- Saffron.

- Salt.

- Water

Method:

1- Put the meat in a casserole together with some water, salt, onion, persil, leek, carrot and bay leaves.

Keep the broth, you will use it later to moisten the empanadas.

2- Peel and cut potatos into little cubes, cook them in water with salt during 12 minutes.

3- Cut onions, tomatos and garlic into little cubes.

4- Sautée onions and garlic.

5- Add the spices, the shredded meat, potatos, tomatos and cook for several minutes until all the ingredients are well cooked. Let it get cool.

6- Now it is time to make the dough. To obtain the characteristic yellow we use some threads of saffron, let it infuse in hot water during at least 10 minutes.

7- Put the flour in a bowl , add salt and the infused water.

knead until it is homogeneous, if needed use some broth to moisten the dough.

Take some cling film, put it on a surface , moisten it with some oil.

Take a portion of dough, put it on the cling film, flatten and put some filling in the middle.

Follow the process you see in the photos:

8 - Fry the empanadas in hot oil.

9 - The empanadas are accompanied by the ají, cut the tomato into little cubes, cut the onion into little pieces. Mix together with some oil, salt and chili.