Empanadas de chiverre

Ingredients

Miel de chiverre

• 1whole chiverre gourd, about 3 kg
• or 2 kg fig-leaf gourd flesh
• 1 kgtapa de dulce or panela, chopped
• 4cinnamon sticks
• 8whole cloves
• the peel of 1 orange
• juice of 1 lemon

Pastry

• 600 gplain flour
• 200 gbutter or lard, cold
• 100 gsugar
• 2eggs
• 2 teaspoonsbaking powder
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt
• about 100 ml milk

To finish

• 1egg, beaten, for brushing
• sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

1. Work carefully, since it can shatter. Set it on the ground rather than a table. Preparing the flesh takes some work. Scoop out the seeds and stringy centre. Cut the flesh away from the hard skin. Cut it into large even chunks. Boil the chunks until they soften. Give them about forty minutes.
2. Drain them thoroughly afterwards. Let the cooked flesh cool a little. Keep working until it is all in threads. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Wet flesh gives a runny loose jam. Put the shredded flesh in a large heavy pot.
3. Add the chopped tapa de dulce. Add the cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. Heat it gently until the sugar melts. Reducing it needs constant attention. Let it cook for two to three hours. Stir it every ten minutes without fail. It should be thick, dark and glossy. Squeeze in the lemon juice at the end. Let it cool completely before using it.
4. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the cold butter in small cubes. Rub it in with your fingertips. Work until it looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Beat the eggs and add them in. Add the milk a little at a time.
5. Bring it together into a soft dough. Do not overwork it at any point. Wrap it and rest it for thirty minutes. Roll the pastry out on a floured surface. Take it down to about four millimetres. Cut out rounds with a bowl or cutter. Aim for about twelve centimetres across.
6. Put a good spoonful of jam on one half. Leave a clear border around the edge. Do not overfill them or they burst. Brush the border with a little water. Fold the pastry over into a half moon.
7. Press the edges together firmly. Crimp the sealed edge with a fork. Set them on lined baking trays. Finishing them takes a moment. Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Sprinkle a little sugar over them. Cut two small slits in each top. Baking them takes about twenty-five minutes. Heat the oven to 190C before baking.
8. Bake them for about twenty-five minutes. They should be golden brown all over. Lift one to check the underside. The jam inside is extremely hot. Let them cool at least to warm. Serving them is done warm or cold.

Technique

• Chiverre is the fig-leaf gourd, Cucurbita ficifolia, whose flesh separates into long strands when cooked rather like spaghetti squash, and that stringiness is the whole character of the jam.
• The hard skin lets the whole gourd keep for months, and it is traditionally stored for Holy Week, which is a genuine Costa Rican custom.
• Tapa de dulce is unrefined whole cane sugar, the same product as panela, and gives the jam its dark colour and molasses depth.

Substitutions

• Spaghetti squash behaves similarly and can stand in where chiverre is unavailable.
• Panela or dark brown sugar replace tapa de dulce.

Variations

• The jam is also eaten on its own or spread on bread.
• Some cooks fry the turnovers rather than baking them.
• Miel de chiverre is made in quantity and kept in jars through the year.

History

Made for Holy Week, when chiverre gourds are cooked down with panela into the dark jam called miel de chiverre.

Frequently asked questions

What is Empanadas de chiverre?

Empanadas de chiverre is a dessert from Costa Rica: pastry turnovers filled with stringy candied fig-leaf gourd jam. Made for Holy Week, when chiverre gourds are cooked down with panela into the dark jam called miel de chiverre.

How long does Empanadas de chiverre take to make?

Empanadas de chiverre takes 1 hour plus making the jam of preparation and 40 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 16 turnovers. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Empanadas de chiverre?

Yes, within limits. Spaghetti squash behaves similarly and can stand in where chiverre is unavailable. Panela or dark brown sugar replace tapa de dulce.

What is the most important thing to get right in Empanadas de chiverre?

Work carefully, since it can shatter. Set it on the ground rather than a table. Preparing the flesh takes some work. Scoop out the seeds and stringy centre. Cut the flesh away from the hard skin. Cut it into large even chunks. Boil the chunks until they soften. Give them about forty minutes.