PREPARATION TIME
25 minutes, plus 15 minutes resting time
COOKING TIME
15 minutes
SERVES
8 turnovers
Ingredients
- 75g minced pork
- 1 tablespoon salsa criolla (Cuban Sauce) 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
- 1 cup (135g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil,
- plus more for frying
Directions
Heat a pan over medium heat. Add the minced pork and salsa criolla and sauté for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
In a small pot, heat the wine, raw sugar, and 3 tablespoons water over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Set the syrup aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, pour the flour in a mound and add the salt. Make a well in the centre and pour the syrup and 5 tablespoons oil in the well. Gently mix, then knead until a smooth dough forms and set aside for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll out each portion with a rolling pin until 3mm thick. Cut out rounds using a small 11cm coffee saucer. Fill one half of each round with 1 tablespoon of the ground pork, then fold the dough in half and press to seal using a fork.
In a large frying pan, heat 5cm oil over medium heat until very hot. Working in batches, add the empanadillas and fry until golden-brown, 3-5 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes: The filling can also be made of a vegetable sauté, chicken, ham, or cheese. A teaspoon of baking powder can be added to the dough to make it crunchier.
Recipe extracted from Cuba The Cookbook by Madelaine Vazquez Galvez and Imogene Tondre
Published by Phaidon, RRP $75
