So what's pretty awesome is that we live in San Francisco. This means Heather and I have the opportunity to experience some pretty magical food. But ALSO, we have friends with lots of cultural backgrounds! So this weekend, we went to an
empanada making party! Our friend Adriana is Colombian, so her mom knows WHATS UP when it comes to making empanadas. She doesn't use any specific recipe, and learned how to make these from watching her mom make them growing up.
She taught us how to make them from scratch. We got to make our own filling, roll out the dough, flatten the dough, stuff the dough with the filling, and then fry them!
The filling started off with sauteing onions and tomatoes with cumin, salt and pepper. Simple, yes? yes!
We had a few chicken breasts that we cut into small cube-like pieces, and threw those in after. No extra secret sauces, spices or marinades. "The KEY to these empanadas, is that it's all about the cumin!", says Adriana's mom.
We were simultaneously boiling potatoes, and then mashed them and added the rest of our saute to them. Then, we got to add salt, pepper and cumin (yes, that is all) to the filling until it tasted good TO US. This is the freedom that comes with using no recipes!
The empanada dough was made out of a sort of maiz (kind of like corn-starch), and the only thing that needed to be added was hot water. Instantly, it turned into this very sticky dough!
We made them into little balls, and then flattened them into the shape of disks. Then, we filled them with our perfectly seasoned filling and closed them up. They were pockets of joy!
The process was actually a lot harder than it sounds, though. It took a lot of concentration to close up the empanadas without having holes pop up everywhere, which is why we had some lukewarm water on hand to "mend" the empanadas!
...SUCESS!! They were.. yes, you guessed it: crunchy on the outside and soft, warm, creamy, steamy, flavorful---and any other adjective describing the insides of empanadas---on the inside! best part is that they were 100% homemade!!
And as Adriana's mother told us: the NUMBER ONE RULE of cooking in the kitchen is that you must always have music playing!
empanada making party! Our friend Adriana is Colombian, so her mom knows WHATS UP when it comes to making empanadas. She doesn't use any specific recipe, and learned how to make these from watching her mom make them growing up.
She taught us how to make them from scratch. We got to make our own filling, roll out the dough, flatten the dough, stuff the dough with the filling, and then fry them!
The filling started off with sauteing onions and tomatoes with cumin, salt and pepper. Simple, yes? yes!We had a few chicken breasts that we cut into small cube-like pieces, and threw those in after. No extra secret sauces, spices or marinades. "The KEY to these empanadas, is that it's all about the cumin!", says Adriana's mom.
We were simultaneously boiling potatoes, and then mashed them and added the rest of our saute to them. Then, we got to add salt, pepper and cumin (yes, that is all) to the filling until it tasted good TO US. This is the freedom that comes with using no recipes!
We made them into little balls, and then flattened them into the shape of disks. Then, we filled them with our perfectly seasoned filling and closed them up. They were pockets of joy!
The process was actually a lot harder than it sounds, though. It took a lot of concentration to close up the empanadas without having holes pop up everywhere, which is why we had some lukewarm water on hand to "mend" the empanadas!
 |
| raw empanadas ready for frying! |
 |
| aaaand in they go |
...SUCESS!! They were.. yes, you guessed it: crunchy on the outside and soft, warm, creamy, steamy, flavorful---and any other adjective describing the insides of empanadas---on the inside! best part is that they were 100% homemade!!
And as Adriana's mother told us: the NUMBER ONE RULE of cooking in the kitchen is that you must always have music playing!
ahhh these look sooooo good
ReplyDeleteYAY!
ReplyDeletemy mother is famous. and you guys are pro at making empanadas
one tiiny thing. The country colombia is spelled with an O
wooot! thanks!
ReplyDeleteoh, and thanks for the spell check :) we have successfully fixed that typo