Ripe Plantain Empanadas with Cheese

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Empanadas with no dough at all: boiled ripe plantain mashed with egg and a little flour, wrapped around mozzarella and fried. Sweet outside, salty and molten inside, and naturally gluten-light. Makes twelve.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Chilling20

Total Time1 15

Course: Snack

Cuisine: Colombian

Keyword: ripe plantain empanadas

Servings:

Calories: 130kcal

Author: Angela Giraldo

Ingredients

4 ripe plantains well ripened, with dark skin: the sweetness is the point
8 cups water for boiling
1 egg binds the dough
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded mozzarella or any mild cheese that melts; queso costeño is more traditional and saltier
Oil, for frying
1 tablespoon sugar for dusting at the end, optional
Salt, to taste for the cooking water

Instructions

Wash the plantains and cut them in half. Put them in a pot of water with a little salt and bring to the boil over medium heat. Cook until soft.
Once cooked, take off the peel and mash the flesh with a fork until you have a purée. Let it cool.
Add the egg, the flour and the vanilla extract, and mix well.
Put the dough in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This is what makes it firm enough to shape.
Divide the dough into 12 balls, then flatten each one into a round disc.
Put cheese on each disc, fold it in half, and press the edge firmly so it seals.
Fry them on both sides until golden, without letting them burn.
Drain on absorbent paper and dust with sugar if you like.

Notes

The dough is soft and sticky because it is almost entirely plantain, and the twenty minutes in the fridge are what make it possible to shape. Do not skip that step and do not fix a sticky dough by adding flour, which turns the empanadas heavy. Wet your hands instead. The plantains must be well ripened, with dark skin: the sweetness against the salty cheese is the whole dish. Seal the edges properly or the cheese escapes into the oil. They are eaten hot, while the cheese still stretches.

Nutrition