Destination
Bogota
The story
Colombian empanadas are a different creature from Argentine or Chilean ones. They're smaller (about the size of a tennis ball, flattened), they're made with a bright yellow corn dough (masarepa amarilla, the same as the Caribbean arepa), and they're always deep-fried until the crust is deep gold and audibly crackly. The classic filling is shredded chicken or beef mixed with cooked, mashed potato and hogao (Colombian sofrito of tomato, onion, spring onion, coriander). Sold from street stalls, corner tiendas and every panadería in the country.
Method
Boil the cubed potato in salted water until fork-tender, about 12 minutes. Drain well and mash roughly with a fork.
Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Sweat the onion, red pepper and spring onions 6 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, cumin, paprika, achiote, salt and pepper. Cook 5 to 6 minutes until thick and jammy.
Off the heat, stir the shredded chicken and mashed potato into the hogao. Add the coriander. Taste and adjust salt. Cool completely, ideally in the fridge 30 minutes.
In a large bowl, dissolve the salt in the warm water. Slowly add the masarepa, stirring, until it forms a soft dough. Add the oil and knead briefly. The dough should feel like clay: smooth, not sticky, and hold a shape without cracking. Rest 5 minutes.
Divide the dough into 18 balls, each about 40g. Place a ball between two sheets of baking paper and press flat with the base of a heavy pan into a disc about 12cm wide and 3mm thick.
Place a heaped tablespoon of cold filling in the centre of each disc. Using the baking paper to lift, fold the disc in half over the filling. Press the edges together firmly through the paper to seal into a half-moon. Trim any ragged edges with a small round cutter or a knife.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 180°C (355°F). Fry the empanadas in batches of 3 or 4 for 3 to 4 minutes, turning gently, until deep golden and crackly. Don't crowd the pot.
Lift onto kitchen paper. Serve immediately with plenty of ají picante and lime wedges.
Tips
- Yellow masarepa, always. The bright yellow colour and slightly sweet corn flavour are what define Colombian empanadas. White masarepa gives you a paler, blander shell.
- Fill and seal through the baking paper. Colombian empanada dough is fragile and cracks easily. Using the baking paper to fold and press keeps the shell intact and gives you a clean, sealed edge every time.
- Cold filling is essential. Warm chicken-and-potato filling steams the dough from the inside and gives you cracked, sad shells. Overnight in the fridge is even better.
- Fry hot and don't crowd. 180°C is the sweet spot. Below that, the empanadas soak up oil and turn greasy; above that they colour before the middle heats through. Three or four at a time in a home fryer.
- Ají picante is not optional. The bright, vinegary Colombian chilli sauce (chopped chilli, coriander, spring onion, lime juice, vinegar) is what makes empanadas Colombian. Serve it in a small dish with a spoon so people can drown their own.
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