AI-generated image
Empanadas de viento
Empanadas de viento: Ecuador's puffed, fried cheese empanadas dusted with sugar
In Quito cafés and markets, empanadas de viento ("wind empanadas") are fried to order: big, thin pastries stuffed with crumbled fresh cheese and onion that puff up like balloons in the hot oil, then get a generous shower of sugar. Ecuadorians eat them for breakfast or afternoon cafecito with coffee or a mug of colada morada. The salty-sweet contrast is the point. The common mistake is overfilling; too much cheese stops them puffing and makes them burst. Some queso fresco is made with animal rennet; choose a vegetarian one made with microbial rennet. Chef's tip: roll the dough very thin, under 2 mm, and press the edges firmly; that's what traps the steam and makes the "wind".
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- 10 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 ⅛ oz buttercold, diced
- ½ cup cold wateras needed
For the filling
- 7 oz queso fresco or mild white cheesevegetarian (microbial rennet), crumbled
- ½ white onion or spring onionsvery finely chopped
- 3 ¼ cups sunflower oilfor frying
- 4 tbsp sugarto dust
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 10 ½ oz plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt and 1 tbsp sugar. Rub in 2 ⅛ oz butter until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Step 2: Add ½ cup cold water a little at a time and knead briefly into a smooth, firm dough. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 3: Mix 7 oz queso fresco or mild white cheese with ½ white onion or spring onions.
Step 4: Divide the dough into 8 and roll each very thin into a 15 cm round.
Step 5: Put a heaped tablespoon of filling on one half, wet the edge, fold over and press firmly. Seal by folding the edge over itself in little pleats or pressing with a fork.
Step 6: Heat 3 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Fry the empanadas one or two at a time for 2–3 minutes, spooning hot oil over the top, until puffed and golden.
20 minStep 7: Drain on kitchen paper, dust heavily with 4 tbsp sugar and serve hot.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 32 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does empanadas de viento take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 35 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of baking powder?
- ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda + ½ tsp cream of tartar per 1 tsp.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Bsissa
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Tunisian
Sabudana khichdi
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Indian
Doi chira
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
Bangladeshi