Api con pastel

Ingredients

Api

• 300 gdried purple maize, or purple maize flour
• 2 litreswater
• 2cinnamon sticks
• 6whole cloves
• the peel of 1 orange
• 200 gsugar, or to taste
• juice of 1 lime

Pastel dough

• 400 gplain flour
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 1 tablespoonsugar
• 50 gbutter or lard
• 1egg
• about 150 ml warm water

Filling

• 250 gfresh white cheese, crumbled

To fry and finish

• oil, for deep frying
• icing sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Cover the dried purple maize with water. Leave it overnight to soften fully. Drain it and grind it with fresh water. Strain the slurry through a fine sieve. Discard the coarse husks left behind. Whisk the purple maize flour into cold water. Make a smooth slurry with no lumps. Starting with cold water is what prevents lumps.
2. Put the rest of the water in a large pot. Add the cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. Bring the water up to a full boil. Simmer it for ten minutes to infuse. Whisk it constantly as you pour. Bring the pot back up to a simmer. Stir it continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook it for about forty minutes. The raw starch taste must cook out completely. Add the sugar near the end of cooking.
3. Squeeze in the lime juice off the heat. Api should be thick but still drinkable. Add hot water if it goes too far. Put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.
4. Rub in the butter with your fingertips. Beat the egg into the warm water. Pour it in and bring the dough together. Knead it for five minutes until smooth. It should be firm rather than soft. Cover it and rest it for thirty minutes.
5. Divide the dough into six pieces. Roll each one out really very thin. Scatter crumbled cheese over one half. Fold the other half over on top of it. Press the edges firmly together. Crimp them with a fork or your fingers. Press out any trapped air as you seal. Frying them needs properly hot oil. Pour oil into a deep pan to six centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway.
6. Heat the oil up to about 180C. It should puff up dramatically. Spoon hot oil over the top as it fries. That helps it to puff up evenly. Fry it for two minutes on each side. It should be deep golden and blistered. Lift it onto a wire rack to drain. Finishing them is quick enough.
7. Dust them generously with icing sugar. Serving it is done together and very hot. Pour the api into mugs or glasses. Set a pastel on a plate beside it. The api keeps two days refrigerated. Fry the pastel fresh each time.

Technique

• Purple maize is used across the Andes for both api and, in Peru, for chicha morada and mazamorra morada.
• Api is served hot and thick, which distinguishes it from the cold Peruvian drinks made from the same maize.

Substitutions

• Purple maize flour is far quicker than whole kernels and is sold in Latin American shops.
• Any fresh crumbly white cheese works for the pastel filling.

Variations

• Api blanco is made from white maize and is often served swirled with the purple.
• Some stalls sell the pastel filled with meat instead of cheese.
• Tojori is a related hot maize drink made without grinding the kernels.

History

Hot purple maize drink served with a fried cheese pastry, the market breakfast of cold mornings in La Paz and Oruro.

Frequently asked questions

What is Api con pastel?

Api con pastel is a breakfast from Bolivia: hot purple-corn drink with fried cheese pastry, market morning. Hot purple maize drink served with a fried cheese pastry, the market breakfast of cold mornings in La Paz and Oruro.

How long does Api con pastel take to make?

Api con pastel takes 30 minutes plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Api con pastel?

Yes, within limits. Purple maize flour is far quicker than whole kernels and is sold in Latin American shops. Any fresh crumbly white cheese works for the pastel filling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Api con pastel?

Put the rest of the water in a large pot. Add the cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. Bring the water up to a full boil. Simmer it for ten minutes to infuse. Whisk it constantly as you pour. Bring the pot back up to a simmer. Stir it continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook it for about forty minutes. The raw starch taste must cook out completely. Add the sugar near the end of cooking.