Panades

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gmasa harina
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspannatto powder, or 1 tbsp achiote paste
• 600 mlwarm water, approximately

Fish filling

• 400 gcooked fish, flaked, or 2 tins sardines, drained
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 2garlic cloves, crushed
• 1tomato, chopped
• 1 tspground cumin
• 2 tbspoil
• salt and pepper

Bean filling

• 400 gcooked black beans, mashed
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbspoil
• salt

Pickled onion sauce

• 2red onions, sliced thin
• 1habanero, sliced
• 150 mlwhite vinegar
• 1 tspsalt
• 1 tspdried oregano

For frying

• 1 litrevegetable oil

Directions

1. Slice the red onions as thinly as you can. Put them in a bowl with the sliced habanero. Pour over the vinegar and add the salt and oregano. Toss it and let it stand for at least an hour. It keeps for two weeks in the fridge.
2. Poach or grill a firm white fish and flake it. Drain them and mash them roughly, bones and all. Heat the oil and cook the onion for six minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Add the chopped tomato and the cumin. Cook it down for five minutes until thick. Stir in the flaked fish and season it. Cook it until the mixture is dry rather than wet. A wet filling will burst the panade in the oil.
4. Let it cool completely before filling anything. Heat the oil and cook the chopped onion until soft. Add the mashed black beans to it. Cook them for eight minutes, stirring, until thick and dry. Season them and let them cool. Put the masa harina, salt and annatto in a bowl. Add most of the warm water and mix with your hand.
5. Bring it together into a smooth dough. It should feel like soft modelling clay. Press a ball flat between your palms. If the edges crack, work in another spoonful of water.
6. Cover it with a damp cloth and let it rest for ten minutes. Shaping them is done with a press or by hand. Divide the dough into twenty balls. Line a tortilla press with two pieces of plastic bag. Press one ball into a round of about ten centimetres. Keep the rounds under the cloth as you work. Filling and sealing them takes a light hand. Peel the top plastic off the pressed round.
7. Put a heaped teaspoon of filling on one half. Do not overfill, since the seam will not close. Use the plastic underneath to fold the round over. Press the edges together firmly. Crimp the edge with your fingers or press it with a fork. Check for any cracks and smooth them over with a wet finger.
8. Heat the oil in a deep pan to about 180C. Test with a scrap of dough: it should sizzle hard and rise. Fry them for about three minutes on each side. They should be crisp and deep golden.
9. Lift them onto a rack lined with paper. Serving them is done piping hot. Pile them on a plate, three or four to a portion. Spoon the pickled onion generously over the top. They go soft within twenty minutes and are fried to order.

Technique

• Cook the filling until dry, since a wet filling bursts the panade in the oil.
• Test the dough by pressing a ball flat; cracked edges mean it needs more water.
• The pickled onion is not optional and is what the dish is built around.

Substitutions

• Tinned sardines in place of fresh fish, which is what many cooks use.
• A flat-bottomed dish in place of a tortilla press.

Variations

• Filled with black beans rather than fish.
• With shredded chicken in the filling.
• Made larger, as a more substantial snack.

History

Fried corn turnovers filled with fish or beans, another Yucatec Maya legacy in northern Belize, served with pickled onion sauce.

Frequently asked questions

What is Panades?

Panades is a street food from Belize: fried corn empanadas stuffed with fish or beans. Fried corn turnovers filled with fish or beans, another Yucatec Maya legacy in northern Belize, served with pickled onion sauce.

How long does Panades take to make?

Panades takes 45 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 20 panades. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Panades?

Yes, within limits. Tinned sardines in place of fresh fish, which is what many cooks use. A flat-bottomed dish in place of a tortilla press.

What is the most important thing to get right in Panades?

Add the chopped tomato and the cumin. Cook it down for five minutes until thick. Stir in the flaked fish and season it. Cook it until the mixture is dry rather than wet. A wet filling will burst the panade in the oil.