Ooh, what delightful little packets of heaven these are. They're commonly eaten for breakfast or as a mid-day snack, though I'd happily gobble them up them anytime and all day long. They're a bit time consuming to make (though a lot of that is waiting and resting), but absolutely well worth it. Give it a try!
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| I see you, lens flare. Lol. |
This is the recipe I followed: https://chipabythedozen.com/en/saltenas-bolivian-empanadas/
I only made a few minor changes:
- I used more chicken (by weight) than was called for; partly because I decided to use bone-in/skin-on to get a better broth, and also because I just felt like it wasn't going to be enough meat. (It didn't really affect anything, other than the resulting more flavorful broth and causing me to have leftover filling when I was done. Oh no -- yummy extra stuff to eat for lunch today. The horror. 😁)
- Based on some of the comments on the recipe I followed, I reduced the amount of sugar that went into the dough. (I think I used a little more than 1/4 cup; and probably not more than 1/2 cup.)
- I added a few extra Tablespoons of flour to the dough near the end of kneading, because it was seeming too wet to me. (It's been super-duper humid where I live lately, so that's probably why this was needed. I think it was a good idea that I did it.)
- Also when making the dough, I realized that I didn't have urucú/achiote (I thought I did, leftover from other times - oops!)....so I did some Google searching and substituted with a 50/50 mix of Turmeric and Paprika. (I think this worked out just fine.)
- I misread the recipe and wasn't sure when or how I was supposed to put the Olives in. I chopped them and added them at the same time as the eggs. (Again, this was just fine and affected nothing.) Also, I only used 15 instead of 20, because the ones I bought seemed overly large.
- Finally, and again based on some comments on the recipe as well as a suggestion in the recipe itself, I threw a little extra broth into the filling to make the final product more juicy.
That's it. Everything went smoothly, and these were a hit at our weekly potluck dinner. A little spicy, a little sweet, and just full of deliciousness from start to finish. Hubby is looking forward to eating the last few for dinner tonight.
This post is part of my project: "Around the World in Foodventures" (I decided I want to expand my culinary horizons even further by making the national dish or a popular recipe, or some signature food or traditional meal from every country in the world. Maybe it'll happen alphabetically, or by region, in random order, or something else. I figure if we can't (yet?) travel everywhere, we at least have the luxury of being able to taste it. It’ll be fun and interesting, but obviously, will take a long time to get through -- as I'll only be doing it once a week or so at most. I am chronicling the journey here.)
“If I’m an advocate of anything, it’s to move…Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.” --Tony Bourdain
“If I’m an advocate of anything, it’s to move…Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food.” --Tony Bourdain
