The World Cup Food Challenge - Day 4 Ecuador (Empanadas de verde con queso)

Almost as soon as I decided take on this self-imposed challenge, I knew that at some point along the road, I would be making something with plantains. I first had them in a Cuban restaurant in a small inconspicuous town in Germany. Not where you'd expect to find plantains on the menu. Well, except in a Cuban restaurant, I suppose. But you'd not expect to find a Cuban restaurant there, for that matter. I cannot really remember what I thought of them, the plantains I mean, but they obviously did not make a distinct impression on me.

So, when a few years later, sat in a Cuban restaurant in New York (which in a mere two visits secured its place on my must-visit list when I am next in New York), I did not think much of it when plantains were ordered. Not at all prepared was I for how much I would come to like them. For weeks after I left New York, I was craving them. They are very similar to goreng pisang from home, while I LOVE! My mouth is watering just thinking about it..., but I digress. The point is, once I saw how often plantains feature in Latin American, and (I think) to a (possibly) lesser extent in African cuisine, I knew I had to try to get my hands on some. I did. They were however very, very green. So green that even the girl at the shop felt compelled to warn me that they were not ripe. I got them anyway. I was sure that I had seen a recipe here and there which called for green plantains, just as there are recipes using green bananas.

I found this recipe, which I am pleased to add, is Ecuadorian approved. My Ecuadorian friend, I should add my only Ecuadorian friend (let's call him Fed) had promised to send me some recipes, but I could not wait. I had already started to search online for recipes as soon as I sent the message of to him asking for suggestions. I found this and sent to him for approval. Fed says it is very authentic, but was rather sceptical about my attempting to make it. Apparently, the plantains available here are generally of very poor quality. What he did not mention, which the website I referred to for this did actually, was that the dough is very difficult to get right. This was the one where my challenge suffered a first setback. Part of the setback though, I must confess, was due to the fact that the day which I chose to make this came on the heels of a house-warming party. Let's just say I was a bit worse for wear the following day. I didn't get to sleep in as much as I liked, due to a combination of it being too bloody light out, my housemate being up and about, a demanding cat and a Skype call. All of which meant I was awake way to early (for my Sunday morning standards and ended up going back to sleep at about noon. By the time I woke again, I had only a few short hours left to prepare the empanadas, go to the gym (which I had to, to make my quota for the week as part of an incentive programme at the end of which I would get a present, but that is a whole other story) and make it to watch the Ecuadorian match with my Ecuadorian friend.

Making the dough turned out to be far more complicated that I ever did anticipate. Admittedly, I made it worse by reducing the portion without bothering to do the math to divide the quantities of the ingredients accurately, and worst of all, not bothering to actually divide the ingredients properly. The main issue here was the 1 egg required for 4 plantains. I used 1 plantain, so really, I needed a quarter of an egg. I cracked the egg into a bowl, beat it lightly, then intelligently attempted to pour just one quarter out of the bowl straight into the dough. Of course, a lot more than one quarter landed on the dough, at least three quarters in fact. My dough immediately because a soggy mess. It simply refused to firm up. To make things worse, I was in such a hurry to get it all done as quickly that I did not wait for the plantains to cool before blending them. The heat may have well contributed to the sticky messiness that became my dough.

Empanadas de verde con queso, which in English is Green Plantain Empanadas with Cheese Filing.

I followed the recipe from: http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/01/15/empanadas-de-verde-con-queso/ This time, my comments in brackets are not so much what I did differently, rather what I did wrong! So, if anyone is tempted to make this, I recommend following the original recipe. Let this serve as a warning to those tempted to deviate from the instructions in the same manner - don't!)

Ingredients:

4 green plantains

1 egg

2 tbs butter, room temperature

1 cup mozzarella or monterey jack cheese, grated

1/3 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion

Salt

Canola oil

Preparation:

1. Wash and peel the green plantains, be careful as green plantains tend to stain clothes and cutting boards. Cut three of the plantains in half. (I used one plantain and cut up half.)
2. Bring salted water to boil in a large saucepan and add the 3 plantains. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. (I forgot to add salt to the water until the last ten minutes.)
3. Remove from heat and let the cooked plantains sit in the water they cooked in until they are cool enough to handle, if you remove from the water they will get too hard. (I took them straight out and blended them up.)
4. Meanwhile grate the remaining raw plantain.
5. Mix the cooked plantains, the raw grated plantain, the egg and the butter in a food processor, blend until a smooth but sticky dough forms. (Yeah, my version did not do this at all. I ended having to add loads of flour to the dough to get the right consistency.)
6. Form the dough into a ball and let rest in a bowl at room temperature for a couple of hours. You can also save to use later and store in the refrigerator for 24 hours, but when you remove it from the refrigerator let it rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
7. Mix the cheese and the onions together.
8. Roll the dough to flatten into a thin sheet using a rolling pin, the dough can be difficult to handle, use oil on your hands, dough and rolling pin to keep the dough from sticking.
9. Use a round cutter (or round bowl or cup) to cut out round disc shapes, the size of the empanadas is up to you, I usually make them medium or small sized if I’m serving them as appetisers or sides, or large if I’m serving them as a main meal.

Then add filling

10. Place a spoonful of the cheese and onion filling in the middle on the empanada disc, fold and seal the empanada, to seal it correctly press the edges gently with your fingers.

11. Let the empanadas sit in the refrigerator for about an hour, this will help them seal better. It is possible to fry the empanadas immediately but they are more likely to open while frying. (Mine empanadas did not sitting in the refrigerator, which probably explains why they split and some of their contents escaped...)

Sitting in the oven

12. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the empanadas, do not overcrowd the pan, and fry on each side until they begin to brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. (Fed told me that some people bake it because it is healthier, but that fried tasted better. I told him that I would then fry mine. I did not. I did not really have time, because I was also busy with something else, so I popped them in the oven at about 180°C for about 15 minutes on each side.)

Verdict: Nyeaah... I don't know. I quite liked it, I think. Or rather, I can imagine how it could be really good. Fed talked about using minced meat, with spices and chopped up green beans, I think it would taste great. Even just the cheese and onions, if I learnt how to fold them properly and be able to fill them with more onion, or perhaps get the dough thinner, it would taste really nice. I thought the dough came out a bit harder than I would have liked (possibly harder than they should be) most likely because of the added flour. All in all, I quite liked them, but I wouldn't say I would be in a hurry to have them again in the version which I made this time. But still, I am glad I did! I wouldn't say it was a failure. Let's say it has good potential.