Colombian Empanadas with Hot Sauce

By á-25087

Impress your family and friends with Colombian Empanadas with Hot Sauce, a delicious fried dough pockets filled with a potato mixture packed with flavor!

Ingredients

• FILLING:
• 2 large brown potatoes
• Water to cover potatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• 1 tablespoon onion powder or 1/2 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 pound ground beef
• DOUGH:
• 3 cups hot water
• 1 chicken bouillon
• 1 envelope Sazón Goya with Achiote or Azafrán or 1/2 tablespoon Triguisar for
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon softened butter
• 3 cups pre-cooked white corn meal
• HOT SAUCE:
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 to 2 habanero peppers, chopped and seeded
• 1 to 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded
• Oil for frying

Preparation

Step 1

Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Put them in a pot, cover them with enough water and add salt. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes on medium heat or until soft.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain them and roughly mash them.

To make the dough, add hot water to a large bowl, add the chicken bouillon, Sazón Goya, salt and butter. Stir well to mix all of the ingredients.

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.

Add oil to a large pan on medium heat. Add the garlic, red bell pepper, tomatoes, onion powder, salt, cilantro, and cumin. Cook this guiso (sauce) for about 5 minutes.

Add the beef to the guiso and cook it thoroughly.

Add the mashed potatoes and mix well to make the filling.

To make the empanadas, put a small ball of dough 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 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.

Once you have all of your empanadas ready, you can fry them in a deep frier with enough oil at 350ºF. You can also fry them on the stove at medium high temperature.

Fry the empanadas for 6 to 7 minutes or until golden brown. Then put them on a paper towels to drain them.

Serve them hot with Colombian hot sauce and lime wedges.

HOT SAUCE:
Add water, vinegar, habanero peppers, onion, sugar, oil, lime juice and salt to a blender and blend well.

Add cilantro, red bell pepper and tomatoes. Pulse once or twice to mix the ingredients without blending. If you wish to have a stronger onion flavor you can add the green onion in this step instead of the previous one.