Las Deliciosas Empanadas

 

We are back at it again with talking more about Salvadoran cuisine and this time we have one of my all time favorite type of dessert: Empanada de Platano (platain). These emapanda are to die for, they aren't like your everyday empanada de pollo, carne, or cerdo (chicken, beef, and pork) These empanada are stuff with a sugary milk filling and are made of plantain and coated with sugar. You can eat empanada with cup or coffee or when ever you just want a sugar rush. 

Ingredients 

To boil plantain 

- 2 big ripe banana                       - 4 cups of water 

- 3 cinnamon stick (or as many you want) - 2tbsp sugar 

Milk filling 

- 3/4 cups of milk                         - 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar                          - 3 tbsp of corn starch 

Serving : 18 

How to make Empanadas

Step 1

You are going to fill a pot with 4 cups of water and bring the water to a boil. Add the bananas to the boiling water (do not remove the peel) the cinnamon, and the 2 tbsp of sugar. 

Step 2 

While the banana is cooking we are going to prepare the milk filling. Add to another pot 1/2 cup of milk, the vanilla extract and sugar and bring all of it to a boil. Dissolve the corn starch in the remain 1/4 cup of milk and as the milk is boiling add the dissolve cornstarch little by little while you also stir the milk so that it won't stick to the bottom of the pot. As you continue to stir the milk you should have an end result of a creamy paste  

Step 3 

At this point your banana should be done as long as they feel squishy then you should be fine. Once removing the banana from the pot your are going to remove the peel and you are going to want to use a grain grinder (for the best result) so that you can smoosh the banana and diminish the thickness of the banana. But if you can't use a grinder use a potato smasher or fork to smoothen out the banana to a manageable paste   

Step 4 

Once done smoothing out the banana you are going to want to ball up the banana paste as the size of a golf ball (same way as if you were balling up the masa for the pupusa) Once you are done doing that you are going to grab a ball of banana paste and open it up and add the milk filler in the middle and then close it up leaving no space open for it so that when you boil them it won't create a problem. 

Step 5 

Now that you have filled every one of plantain paste. You can now begin to boil them, it prefer that you add oil till it almost covers the empanada and from then you are going to want to cook them till you get a golden brown color on the empanada. As soon as the empanada turn that color remove them from the oil and place them on a plate with paper in order to remove the excess oil on it. Last thing you do to them is just add sugar on the top and enjoy.