Empanada de viento

Ingredients

The dough

• 400 gplain flour
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonsugar
• 60 gbutter, cold and diced
• or 4 tablespoons oil
• 1egg
• about 120 ml warm water
• or milk
• 1 tablespoonaguardiente
• or vodka, optional

The filling

• 300 gqueso fresco
• or a mild white crumbling cheese
• or mozzarella, drained and grated
• 2spring onions, very finely sliced
• optional
• black pepper

To seal

• 1egg white, beaten
• or water

For frying

• 1 litrevegetable oil
• or enough for 6 cm depth

To finish

• 4 tablespoonscaster sugar
• for dusting while hot
• a pinch of cinnamon, optional

To serve

• hot, on their own
• with coffee
• or with ají, for those who prefer it

Directions

1. Rinse and soak it if you use it. Mozzarella works if it is drained and grated. Grate or crumble it rather than using slabs. Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the cold diced butter. Rub it in with your fingertips.
2. Work until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Cold butter stays in small pieces through the dough. Warm butter simply blends in. Now add the wet ingredients. Beat the egg into the warm water. Add the aguardiente if you are using it.
3. Pour it into the flour gradually. Bring it together into a dough. Knead it for about five minutes. It should become smooth and elastic. Add a little flour or water to adjust it. Wrap it and rest it for thirty minutes. That makes it possible to roll thin. Divide the dough into twelve balls. Roll each into a thin circle. Aim for about two millimetres.
4. Keep the rolled circles covered while you work. They dry out quickly and then crack. Put a modest amount of cheese on one half. About a tablespoon is right. Leave a wide clear border. Add sliced spring onion if you like.
5. Grind over black pepper. Do not overfill them at all. Brush the border with beaten egg white or water. Fold the dough over into a half moon. Press the edge firmly with your fingers. Press out any trapped air pockets near the filling. The seal must be complete and airtight.
6. Press the whole edge twice over. Fold small sections of the edge over each other. Work along the curve, overlapping as you go. Hold each one up and look at the seam. Press any thin or open spot again.
7. Use a wide deep pan. Width matters because these lie flat. Fill it no more than one third full. Never leave hot oil unattended. Keep a well fitting lid within reach. If it catches fire, turn off the heat and cover it. Heat the oil to one hundred and eighty degrees. That is hotter than for thick fritters.
8. Spoon hot oil over the top surface as it fries. Fry for about ninety seconds a side. They should puff within the first thirty seconds. Turn them once with a slotted spoon. They should be golden and blistered. Use a slotted spoon rather than a fork. Lift them out and drain them briefly. Use a rack over kitchen paper.
9. Dust them heavily with caster sugar. Do it while they are still hot and slightly oily. Add a pinch of cinnamon to the sugar if you like. Serve them hot, within minutes. Warn people that the cheese inside is very hot. Freeze them flat on a tray before bagging. Fry them from frozen at the same temperature.

Technique

• Four things make it puff: dough rolled to about two millimetres, a completely airtight seal, a modest filling, and oil at a full 180 degrees. Get one wrong and it stays flat.
• Roll thin enough to see light through the dough. Thick dough cannot be pushed apart by steam and stays doughy inside — this is the single most important point.
• Rest the dough thirty minutes before rolling. Unrested dough springs back and will not stay thin, which alone decides whether they puff.
• Do not overfill. About a tablespoon of cheese per empanada — the filling takes up the space the air needs, and less is genuinely more.
• The seal must be airtight. Any gap lets steam out so it stays flat, and lets hot oil in, which is worse. Press the whole edge twice and check the seam of each one before frying. The twisted rope edge, the repulgue, seals more securely than a fork.
• Spoon hot oil over the top surface as they fry. It sets the upper side and encourages the rise.
• Never pierce them. A pierced empanada deflates instantly and releases steam and molten cheese. Turn them with a slotted spoon, not a fork.
• Dust with sugar the moment they leave the oil, while the surface is hot and slightly oily. Once cool, the sugar slides off.
• Drain and pat the cheese dry, and grate or crumble it. Wet cheese releases water that can burst the seal in the oil.
• Rub cold butter into the flour, leaving small pieces. Those create tiny layers that help the dough separate and puff; warm butter simply blends in.
• A spoonful of aguardiente or vodka is a traditional addition that genuinely works — alcohol evaporates faster than water, giving extra lift, and it inhibits gluten slightly, keeping the dough tender.
• Warn people about the first bite. Melted cheese holds heat far longer than the dough and it is a real burn risk.
• Deep-frying rules apply: fill the pan no more than a third, never leave it unattended, keep a lid within reach, and if the oil catches fire turn off the heat and smother it. Never throw water on burning oil.

Substitutions

• Any mild fresh white cheese replaces queso fresco; rinse and soak feta first, since it is too salty alone.
• Drained grated mozzarella melts more and is widely used.
• Oil replaces butter in the dough, giving a slightly less flaky result.
• Milk replaces water for a richer dough.
• Vodka replaces aguardiente, and the spirit can be left out entirely.
• Cinnamon can be mixed into the dusting sugar.

Variations

• Empanadas de morocho use a cracked-maize dough and a meat filling.
• Empanadas de verde are made with green plantain dough and filled with cheese.
• Empanada colombiana uses a maize dough and a beef and potato filling.
• Argentine and Chilean empanadas are baked wheat pastry with savoury fillings.
• A version filled with cheese and onion is common in some Ecuadorian regions.
• Some cooks serve them with ají rather than sugar, which is the savoury reading of the same dish.

Frequently asked questions

What is Empanada de viento?

Empanada de viento is a snack from Ecuador: puffy fried cheese empanada dusted with sugar.

How long does Empanada de viento take to make?

Empanada de viento takes 30 minutes plus 30 minutes resting of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 12. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Empanada de viento?

Yes, within limits. Any mild fresh white cheese replaces queso fresco; rinse and soak feta first, since it is too salty alone. Drained grated mozzarella melts more and is widely used. Oil replaces butter in the dough, giving a slightly less flaky result. Milk replaces water for a richer dough. Vodka replaces aguardiente, and the spirit can be left out entirely. Cinnamon can be mixed into the dusting sugar.

What is the most important thing to get right in Empanada de viento?

Rinse and soak it if you use it. Mozzarella works if it is drained and grated. Grate or crumble it rather than using slabs. Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the cold diced butter. Rub it in with your fingertips.