Empanadas Mexicanas de Masa (Mexican Masa Empanadas)
Empanadas Mexicanas de Masa (Mexican Masa Empanadas) is a traditional Mexican recipe for a classic fried pasty made with a masa harina dough and your personal choice of filling. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Mexican version of: Mexican Masa Empanadas (Empanadas Mexicanas de Masa).
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
This recipe is for a classic Mexican-style empanada made with masa harina (finely-ground maize flour) rather than wheat flour. No recipe for filling is given here, but the following are examples of appropriate fillings: carnitas; barbacoa; Mexican chorizo and grated cheese (Mexican chorizo is softer and more floral than its more commonly encountered Spanish equivalent); Chilaca Pork Stew chopped small; Sonoran picadillo; mixed grated cheese and jalapeño chillies.
Ingredients:
450g masa harina (finely-ground maize flour)
750ml hot water
the filling of your choice (see some of the ideas, above)
oil for frying
Method:
Begin by preparing the masa dough. Mix together the masa harina and the hot water then knead into a cohesive dough (about 2 to 3 minutes). Don’t add all the water in at one, depending on the dryness of the masa harina you may need slightly more or slightly less than the stated amounts. What you want is a moist masa that does not stick to your hands.
Cut out two sheets of lightweight plastic (the basic supermarket plastic bag is ideal for this). Arrange one plastic sheet on your tortilla press, then pull off about 40 grams of masa dough, a bit larger than a walnut, or exactly the size of a walnut in its husk. Roll it into a ball and set it on the plastic. Put the other piece of plastic over it and press down with your hand a bit to flatten the dough somewhat. Lever your tortilla press down hard, but not all the way. Flip the tortilla over and lever it down again. This makes an evenly flat tortilla.
Get a large, deep, frying pan or heavy pot and pour enough oil to come up at least 3cm up the sides, and ideally 5cm. Heat it to between 160°C and 180°C
Peel off the top piece of plastic and spoon a heaped tablespoon, more or less, of your choice of filling onto the side of the dough closest to the lever, leaving about 12mm space from the edge of the dough.
Gently fold the other side of the dough over the filling to form a half-moon. Carefully peel the plastic from the back and gently pat down the filling and seal the edges. Anchor the seal with the tines of a fork. Keep in mind the empanada is still sitting on the plastic.
Carefully lift the empanada away from the plastic and slip it into the hot oil. It do this flat side down to start, then flip the empanada after about 2 minutes, letting the top fry about 90 seconds. Flip once more for another minute of frying, for a total frying time of about 4 to 5 minutes.
Prepare a second empanada while you are frying the first one; usually you can have 2 or 3 frying at once.
Lift the finished empanadas out and let them drain on a wire rack. Serve and eat hot.
)
