Easy Peruvian recipes!

12p / 15min

Fact:

An oyster and leche de tigre is double an aphrodisiac, ayeayeaye...

Ingredients:

• 1 sp juice of passionfruit
• 1/2 sp juice of lime
• 1/2 sp pisco
• 1 sp ají amarillo
• a pinch of salt
• 12 little leaves cilantro

Preparation:

1. mix all ingredients and seeve to leche de tigre
2. open the oysters
3. put a bit of the leche de tigre in each oyster and garnish with a cilantro leave

For 20 cookies / Preparation time 30 + 15 min

Ingredients:

• Cookies
• 200 g butter
• 5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 200 g flour
• 150 g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
• 50 g powdered sugar
• Manjar blanco
• 200 g (½ can) condensed milk
• 200 ml coffee milk
• Also needed
• baking paper
• Garnish ring of van 4 cm in diameter
• Piper bag with a a smooth nozzle

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Mix the butter in a bowl with the granulated sugar until creamy and add the egg. Note: Make sure the butter and egg are at room temperature, otherwise they may curdle when mixing.
3. Sift the flour, cornflour and baking powder over this butter mixture and mix gently.
4. Knead by hand into a dough. Add a little water if the dough is too dry.
5. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter to prevent the dough from sticking and roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.6 cm. Cut out circles with a glass or the garnish ring. Poke holes in the circles with a fork.
6. Place the molds on the baking tray and bake them for 10 minutes until they are brittle and sandy, they must not become brown!
   Let the cookies cool down, because they are very fragile (they are a kind of shortbread).
7. There are several ways to make manjar blanco, but this is the fastest: put the condensed milk and the coffee milk in a heavy-bottomed pan and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat, keep stirring until a thick beige sticky caramel forms. If it becomes too thick, I always add some water while stirring.
8. Place the blank manjar in a piping bag and pipe the caramel onto a biscuit. Place another cookie on top and press gently. Do not press them hard, because the cookies break easily as they're made of corn flour. Sprinkle the cookies liberally with powdered sugar.
9. Tip: you can also roll the alfajores in coconut for extra oempf.

2 p / 1.5 uur

Ingredients:

• 500 g rocoto
• 2 l water 
• 3 tbs sugar
• 3 tbs salt
• 3 tbs white vinegar
• arched oil
• 300 gr minced beef
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic
• 8 snack tomatoes, finely cut
• 150 g raisins
• 100 g butter
• a pinch of cumin
• 2 tbs of oregano 
• a hand full of parsley
• salt en ground black pepper
• 50 gr raisins
• 1 boiled egg

Preparation:

1. 'De-spice' the rocoto: cut the tops remove the veins and seeds with a spoon. Don’t throw away the tops!
2. Put the water in a pan, boil the water, add 1 tbs of sugar, tbs of 1 salt and 1 tbs of vinegar and add the rocoto with the tops. Let it boil or 3 min. Rinse and repeat the process 3 times with each time fresh water, sugar, salt and vinegar.   Let them dry on paper towel.
3. Preheat the oven at 180 C.
4. Bake the onion and garlic till gold brown, then add the minced meat, fry till brown. 
5. Add the tomato, the parsley, oregano, cumin and salt and pepper. 
6. Fry for another 2min on high heat. Take of the heat.
7. Add the raisins and eggs. 
8. Fill the rocoto’s with the beef filling.
9. Put the cheese on top of each rocoto and cover up with the top of the rocoto.
10. Put in the oven at 180 C for one hour. 

Tip: eat with a fresh green salad with cucumber, sugar snaps and lettuce. You also can add baked sweet potatoe.

4 persons / 30 min

Fact:

The word chupe comes from the Quechua word chuwa misa, which means 'deep dish'. The chupe was a typical potato soup that was prepared during the Warachikuy festival, when the young Incas celebrated their passage to adulthood. The soup evaluated with extra ingredients like corn, rice, milk, cheese and some more. This very rich soup is a typical dish from the mountains around Arequipa, the second city of Peru.

Ingredients:

• 600 gr middle big prawns
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• 2 liter of water
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 ts ají amarillosauce or ají amarillo choppedd finely
• 1 red onion
• salt and black ground pepper
• 30 ml of tomato sauce
• 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of carrot, finely chopped
• 1 ts ground ginger
• 8 mini potatoes
• 50 gr rice
• 1 corn in 6 pieces
• 50 gr peas
• 2 eggs
• 100 gr mozzarella
• 5o mg coffee milk
• 1 tablespoon of oregano

Preparation

1. Peel and devein the prawns, leave the tails.
2. Fry 2 tablespoons in a deep pan and add the peel and head of the prawns, add 1 liter of water after 5 minutes and let it cook for 10 minutes.
3. Fry in a big soup pan the garlic, ají and onion.
4. Seeve the prawns, don't throw away anything! Add the 'prawn water' to the soup pan and boil.
5. Use the deep pan again for frying the tomato sauce, the celery, the carrot and ginger. Add the prawn heads after 5 minutes and let it boil for another 10 minutes. Seeve again an add the liquid to the big soup pan. The prawn peels and heads can be thrown away.
6. Add the potatoes, add after 5 minutes the rice and corn. Add after another 5 minutes the peas.
7. Add after 10 minutes the eggs, the mozzarella and the coffee milk.
8. Serve when the eggs are ready, decorate with oregano.

For 4 persons
Preparation time 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• Cookies
• 200 g butter
• 5 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 200 g flour
• 150 g cornflour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
• 50 g powdered sugar
• Manjar blanco
• 200 g (½ can) condensed milk
• 200 ml coffee milk
• Also needed
• baking paper
• Garnish ring of van 4 cm in diameter
• Piper bag with a a smooth nozzle

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Mix the butter in a bowl with the granulated sugar until creamy and add the egg. Note: Make sure the butter and egg are at room temperature, otherwise they may curdle when mixing.
3. Sift the flour, cornflour and baking powder over this butter mixture and mix gently.
4. Knead by hand into a dough. Add a little water if the dough is too dry.
5. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter to prevent the dough from sticking and roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.6 cm. Cut out circles with a glass or the garnish ring. Poke holes in the circles with a fork.
6. Place the molds on the baking tray and bake them for 10 minutes until they are brittle and sandy, they must not become brown!
   Let the cookies cool down, because they are very fragile (they are a kind of shortbread).
7. There are several ways to make manjar blanco, but this is the fastest: put the condensed milk and the coffee milk in a heavy-bottomed pan and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat, keep stirring until a thick beige sticky caramel forms. If it becomes too thick, I always add some water while stirring.
8. Place the blank manjar in a piping bag and pipe the caramel onto a biscuit. Place another cookie on top and press gently. Do not press them hard, because the cookies break easily as they're made of corn flour. Sprinkle the cookies liberally with powdered sugar.
9. Tip: you can also roll the alfajores in coconut for extra oempf.

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Mix the butter in a bowl with the granulated sugar until creamy and add the egg. Note: Make sure the butter and egg are at room temperature, otherwise they may curdle when mixing.
3. Sift the flour, cornflour and baking powder over this butter mixture and mix gently.
4. Knead by hand into a dough. Add a little water if the dough is too dry.
5. Sprinkle a little flour on the counter to prevent the dough from sticking and roll out the dough to a thickness of 0.6 cm. Cut out circles with a glass or the garnish ring. Poke holes in the circles with a fork.
6. Place the molds on the baking tray and bake them for 10 minutes until they are brittle and sandy, they must not become brown!
   Let the cookies cool down, because they are very fragile (they are a kind of shortbread).
7. There are several ways to make manjar blanco, but this is the fastest: put the condensed milk and the coffee milk in a heavy-bottomed pan and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat, keep stirring until a thick beige sticky caramel forms. If it becomes too thick, I always add some water while stirring.
8. Place the blank manjar in a piping bag and pipe the caramel onto a biscuit. Place another cookie on top and press gently. Do not press them hard, because the cookies break easily as they're made of corn flour. Sprinkle the cookies liberally with powdered sugar.
9. Tip: you can also roll the alfajores in coconut for extra oempf.

Fact:

This is Peru's most iconic and signature cocktail. No Pisco Sour, no glory! Read more about Pisco, the white spirit. You can use the same recipe for a Maracuja Sour (on the picture...this is my favorite): just add 10cl of Maracuja Juice.

Ingredients:

• 10 cl pisco acholado (Pisco 1615)
• 4 cl lime juice
• 4 cl sucre de Cane
• 3 egg whites (vegan suggestion: aquafaba)
• 20 ice cubes
• angostura bitter

Preparation:

1. Chill the glass by putting in 5 ice cubes per glass.
2. Put the pisco, lime juice, sucre de cane and egg white in a shaker or blender and shake/blend for 15 sec.
3. The add 10 ice cubes to the mix and shake/blend again for 15 sec.
4. Take the ice cubes out of the glasses.
5. Pour the liquid in the glasses, you get a liquid with foam on top of it (just like beer).
6. Add three drops of Angostura to the glass.

15 min / 30 mussels

Fact:

This perfect snack tiradito comes from Callao, the north port of Lima. The capital actually was chosen because it was situated near the port. Like a lot of immigrants in the 19th century my great-grandfather arrived here after a two-year boat tour from north Italy. Here he got married, started a family and became Peruvian. Veggie? Replace the seafood by avocado!

Ingredients:

• 30 mussels
• 2 red onions cut thinly julienne
• 4 tomatoes cut thinly julienne, without the seeds
• 2 tbsp of tabasco or 1 chili
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp limejuice
• 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro + 1 tbsp for garnishing
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 30 cooked corn or choclo kernels

Preparation:

1. Soak the onion in ice water for 5 minutes.
2. Wash the mussels, pull of the beard and cook for 2 minutes. Throw away the mussels that haven’t opened.
3. Pull the mussels from their shells (gently!) and place the mussels back on one half of the shell.
4. Rinse the onion well and mix with the tomatoes, the chili, lime juice, olive oil and cilantro.
5. Add salt and peper to taste. Now your salsa criolla is ready!
6. Spoon the salsa criolla over the mussels and garnish each shell with one corn kernel and a bit of cilantro.

6 persons / 2,5hrs

Fact:

This national lemonade is made from purple corn, chicha morada. The sweets, this lemonade and the dessert from this corn are my favourites. In Peru you drink this in a longdrink glass with a lot of ice cubes. Also great to make popsicles of the lemonade. If you prefer an alcoholic drink, mix with 1/4th of prosecco!

Ingredients:

• 1 bag / 0,5 kilo of maiz morada (purple corn)
• 1 pineapple
• 1 apple, cut in two
• the peel of 1 orange
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 clove
• 50 g of cane sugar
• 3 liters of water

Preparation:

1. Boil de chicha morada over medium heat with the shell of the pineapple, the apple , the peel of the orange, the cinnamon and clove till the corn kernels start to open. This takes about 2 hours.
2. Sieve, add the sugar and lime juice and let everything cool down.
3. Serve it in a big glass with a lot of ice cubes.

June 28th is a national holiday; ceviche is loved in Peru, where it is generally considered to be part of the national heritage.

"Peru is the only country in the whole world where food is the most important thing. You go to Brazil, it's soccer. If you go to Colombia, it's music. But in Peru, the most important source of pride is food." - Gaston Acurio, Peru’s most famous chef.

And that is why today we celebrate our ceviche! As the mother country of ceviche, we are very proud that you can find ceviches all over the world, under various names with different ingredients. In Peru we have many types of ceviche, using fish, seafood, veggies, fruit or meat. Some examples: ceviche clásico or simple, ceviche caretillero with fried squid heads, ceviche mixto with fish and seafood, ceviche de pulpo and ceviche de concha negras (black shells) in coastal Peru, ceviche de camarones (shrimps) in in the Arequipa area, ceviche de champignones y ceviche de tarwi beans in the Ancash region in the Andes, ceviche nikkei, ceviche amazónico with fish, chillies and palm heart in Iquitos in the Amazon, chinguirito with cured or dried guitarfish in the Piura region, and ceviche de criadilla with frozen testicles of bulls in Cajamarca. 

Here three recipes we love to eat in Peru, so that you all can celebrate with us in style! Ceviche clásico, ceviche carretillero and mangoviche. 

4p / 30min

Fact:

This is a typical Peruvian-Spanish fusion dish: the Spaniards brought Gazpacho Andaluz to Peru and the Peruvians added some tomatoes, spice and umpf. Quinoa is one of the most well-known superfoods from Peru, in this gazpacho as crunchy garnish.

Ingredients:

• 6 tasty tom tomatoes
• 6x6cm boiled pumpkin
• ½ cucumber without the peel
• 1 grilled pickled red bell pepper
• 1 red or green rocoto chilli or 6 tbsp of Let's Salsa Roasted Chipotle
• 1 small red onion
• 25mm of red vinegar
• 100mm of extra vierge olive oil
• 2 tbsp of coffee milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

• 1 red bell pepper in vinegar
• juice of 1 lime
• 6 kalamata olives
• 1/4 green bell pepper
• 1 tbsp parsley
• 1 tbsp cilantro
• 1 tbsp mint
• 2 tbsp white balsamic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp of quinoa

Preparation:

1. Put the tomatoes and rocoto chilli (without the seeds) for 20min in the oven on 200°C
2. Rinse the quinoa with cold water and put it in a hot pan. Add a bit of oil when it is dried and roast in about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to stir!
3. Mix the rest of the garnish, all chopped finely, and leave in the fridge.
4. Mix the tomatoes, pumpkin, cucumbers, green bell pepper, chilli, onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and leave in the fridge for 15min, it needs to be really cold!
5. Put the tomato mix and the coffee milk in the blender.
6. Serve the tomato mix, put the garnish on top.
7. Last step: sprinkle 1tbsp of oil and then the quinoa all over the gazpacho like it is confetti!

2p / 15min

Fact:

The combination of fruit with spiciness and sour is not very common in Western countries. nevertheless, it is a lovely refreshing combination on sunny days. This dish goes very well with green plantain cookies, tostones.

Ingredients:

• 1 mango cut in cubes of 1x1cm
• 10 red mini tomatoes
• 1 lime juice
• 1/2 tangerine juice
• 1/4 chilli
• 1 hand full of red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp cilantro
• 1 tsp of salt
• 4 cups of vinegar
• 1 cup of sugar

Preparation:

1. Boil the vinegar with sugar and let cool down.
2. Add the onion to the sweet vinegar and put in the fridge for 5min.
3. Mix the lime juice, tangerine juice, chilli and salt.
4. Add the mango and onion and mix carefully.
5. Leave in the fridge for 10min so that mango can absorb the flavours.
6. Garnish with cilantro.

2p / 15min

Ingredients:

• 1kg cockles
• 125ml coconut milk
• 2tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tangerine, juice
• 1 lime, juice
• 1 chilli, cut confetti.
• parsley 1 hand full finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Rinse the cockles and then put them for 1 hour in cold water with salt so that they spit out the sand.
2. Cook the cockles for 10min till they start to open up.
3. Seeve the cockles and put the broth back in the pan.
4. Add the coconut milk, tamarind and the juice of 1/2 tangerine to the juice of the cockles, let it cook for 1 minute.
5. Let it cool down, first outside the fridge and when it's cool enough in the fridge.
6. Put the cockles in a bowl and pour some of the coconut mix over the cockles. Garnish with the chilli, parsley and finish with the juice of the lime and 1/2 tangerine.
7. Pour the broth in small cups for on the side, make sure it is really cold like a good gazpacho. This combination is so fresh for a sunny feel!

2 persons / 15min

Fact:

We love avocado's, palta's in Peru, all over Latin America. Did you know that the word 'avocado' comes from the Aztec word of 'testicle' because of it's shape? Maybe that's why we call it palta in Peru...

Here the veggie recipe, but you can replace the beetroot and pumpkin by shredded cooked chicken and tomato or by shrimps and cucumber.

Ingredients:

• 2 avocado's
• 1 beetroot, cut in mini cubes
• pumpkin: same amount and cut as the beetroot
• 1ts ginger
• 1tbsp of lettuce cut julienne
• 1 hand full of cilantro
• 1cm chillies, chopped
• lime zest of 1 lime
• 1tbsp red onion
• 1tbsp good olive oil
• 2tbsp of mayonnaise

Preparation:

1. Boil the beetroot and pumpkin and let both cool down
2. Mix all ingredients and stuff the avocado
3. sprinkle a bit of lime juice over the avocado

1 hour / 6 persons

Fact:

This favourite Peruvian of my oldest brother is a true party kind of recipe. My Mum always made this together with me. Although it is quite some work, everyone loves these stuffed potatoes. Read more about the interesting history here.

Ingredients:

• 1 kilo potatoes (Opperdoes)
• 400gr minced meat
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 boiled eggs
• 50gr raisins
• 50gr kalamata olives
• 1tbsp of parsley
• 1 cup of groundnut oil
• 1 cup of flour
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Boil de potatoes and mash without any additives.
2. Make a big roll of the mash and put in the fridge.
3. Put the raisins in a bowl with warm water.
4. Fry the onion and garlic, then add the minced meat and salt and pepper.
5. When cooked add the raisins and parsley.
6. Divide the roll of potatoes in approximately 8 portions.
7. Make flat rounds, take them in your hand and fill with the meat mix and a small piece of egg and olive on top and then close carefully so that you get ‘big stuffed potatoes’.
8. Cover the stuffed potatoes in flour and fry in very hot oil.

35min / 6p

Fact:

Nowadays this is an appetizer of potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce. There are various versions of the.roots of the dish, nevertheless I never met anyone who didn't like this dish.

Ingredients:

• 12 little potatoes or 5 papas amarillas
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 300gr mozzarella (no feta or Hüttenkase, both are too sour)
• ½ cup of Carnation condensed milk (not sweet!) or coffee milk
• 1 chilli
• 2 spoons of olive oil
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 6 leaves of lettuce
• 6 kalamata olives
• 6 boiled quail eggs
• curly parsley

Preparation:

1. Cut the potatoes with the skin in half and place cut side down on a baking tray. Add the garlic, sprinkle oil and salt over the potatoes and roast for 35-40min in the pre-heated oven at 180°C.
2. Boil the eggs and cut in half
3. Mix the mozzarella, chilli, milk and olive oil with the blender to a nice liquid sauce
4. Add salt and pepper
5. Put the lettuce on a big plate
6. Put the potatoes on top of it and cover with the sauce
7. Garnish with the eggs, olives and curly parsley

5 persons / 30 minutes

Fact:

Tiger’s milk is called that way because of the milky white color and because it is good for your resistance, it is a perfect hangover drink and…it is an aphrodisiac ayeayeaye!

Ingredients:

• 600gr sea bass
• 1 red onion
• 1 sweet potatoe
• 1 hand of canchita (maïz chulpe)
• 1 hand of choclo, Peruvian corn
• 1 hand of cilantro leaves
• salt

Tiger's milk

• 10 limes
• 2 cm peeled ginger
• 1 stalk of celery
• 2 chillies (without the seeds)
• 3 cilantro stems
• 4 cm sea bass
• 2 ice cubes

Preparation:

1. Boil the sweet potato and heat the canchita in a bit of oil on medium heat. Cover and cook until all the kernels have popped, about 7 minutes.
2. Cut the potato in cubes of 2x2cm.
3. Cut the red onion in thin slices and put them in cold water with salt.
4. Cut the sea bass in pieces of 2x2cm. Keep 4cm for the tiger’s milk. Sprinkle salt over the fish.
5. Mix de lime juice and the rest of the ingredients into tiger’s milk and strain the juice.
6. Cover the sea bass in the tiger’s milk and leave for 15min.
7. Rinse the onions rinse well with cold water to remove the 'onion sharpness' and to soften the structure.
8. Put everything on a plate and garnish with the canchita, choclo, potato, onion and cilantro.

30min / 10p

Preparation:

Tamales, wrapped in corn- or banana leave, are popular all over Latin America. Filled with corn dough with meat, vegetables or fruit, wrapped like a present. I make them more light without the corn dough. Oh...the leaves are not edible!

Ingredients:

• frozen banana leaves, clean with slight damp kitchen paper
• 3 big cans of sweet corn / 1 bag of white corn kernels (choclo)
• 4 fresh garlic cloves, finely cut
• 100gr pine nuts 
• 1 tsp hot pepper
• 250 gr of mozzarella, thin slices
• 1 hand of fine chopped cilantro
• 1 hand of raisins
• 10 kalamata olives, chopped
• ground black pepper and salt 
• groundnut oil

Preparation:

1. Fry the pine nuts and finely chopped garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes over a low heat, make sure it gets a nice golden colour. 
2. Grind the corn and hot pepper briefly in the kitchen aid to a solid substance: not too liquid, it still needs to contain some whole corn kernels. 
3. Mix the corn, garlic, raisins and olives and bake for 3mins. It will start popping and caramelize, so that the sweet taste of the corn comes out. Add the cilantro and salt and pepper to taste and turn the fire off. 
4. Cut square shaped sheets of 25 x 20 cm and make a pile of the sheets. Rip thin ribbons of one leave to wrap around the envelopes. 
5. Put a tablespoon of the mix in the middle of the leave. Put two pieces of mozzarella on top. 
6. Wrap the package using the ribbon. You can eat these lovely tamales immediately, but also easily keep in the fridge for two days.
   If you prefer to eat them warm, use a bamboo steam basket and leave the little packages for 5min steaming in the basket. 

15min / 5 persons

Fact:

Tostones or patacones are eaten all over Latin America as a side snack.

Ingredients:

• 1 green banana (not the same as a plantain, ask at the toko!)
• salt
• 3tbsp groundnut oil

Preparation:

1. Cut of the tops of both sides of the banana.
2. Make 4 vertical cuts in the peel and pull the peel off.
3. Cut the banana into 1 cm pieces.
4. Put the oil in the pan.
5. Fry the pieces on both sides light gold in a little bit.
6. Let it cool down and and crush the pieces gently with the palm of your hand..
7. Bake the crushed pieces again until golden brown on both sides.
8. Remove from the pan, sprinkle some salt over it and serve warm on the side.

20min / 1 jar

Fact:

Ají amarillo is Peru's edible gold, used in the majority of the dishes. Inka warriors ate the ajies to become strong and to be able to hunt. See

Ingredients:

• 12 ajíes amarillos (where to buy)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp white vinegar / balsamic
• salt to taste
• groundnut oil

Preparation:

1. Cut the ajies in half and take the seeds out.
2. Boil for 5 minutes and rinse well.
3. Take the peel of when lukewarm.
4. Put in fresh water, add the sugar and let it boil for 5min.
5. Rinse and blend the ajies, the oil to 1/3^rdof the ajies, vinegar and salt. For small quantities you can use a blender, for bigger ones the kitchen aid. 
6. Blend till the substance is creamy and yellow.
7. Check out the video on my YouTube channel

13-15 empanadas

Fact:

Every country in Latin America has its own recipe for empanadas with different preparations, doughs, textures, shapes and fillings. Peruvian empanadas are filled with their most famous signature dishes, this recipe is with the filling of the papa rellena (stuffed potato).

Ingredients:

• 300gr ground half beef / half pork
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 40gr of raisins
• 10gr parsley, finely chopped
• 1 boiled egg, cut into 8 pieces
• 5 kalamata olives, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 tbsp groundnut oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 beaten egg

Dough: 60gr butter, 150gr flour + extra, 45ml water

Salsa criolla (family of the Mexican pico de gallo) : 1/2 onion, 4 tomatoes, 1 red pepper, a hand full of cilantro and 3 tbsp white balsamic.

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter and mix with the flour and water for 5min till you have smooth dough. Wrap in plastic foil and put in the fridge for 20min.
2. Soak the raisins in hot water.
3. Cut and mix all the ingredients for the salsa criollo and put in the fridge.
4. Cook and stir the onion and garlic over medium-low heat until the onion has softened and is transparent.
5. Add the ground meat over medium-high heat and cook till the meat is crumbly and no longer pink.
6. Add the raisins, parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Let the filling cool to room temperature.
7. Take the dough out of the fridge: it should be soft and smooth, not elastic. Trick: poke a hole in the dough with your finger. and the hole should remain.
8. Roll the dough on a floured surface into a thin sheet and cut out discs using a pastry cutter (Dille&Kamille) or a big glass.
9. Brush the edges of the empanada discs with a bit of the beaten egg to help better seal them.
10. Put one tbsp of the filling in the middle with an egg piece and olive on top. Fold the dough and seal the edges with your fingers.
11. Brush the empanadas with the beaten egg, this is most easy when you keep the empanada in your hand. Chill the empanadas for about 20 minutes.
12. Put them in the pre-heated over for 15-20min on 200℃ until gold.
13. Ready! Serve them with pico de gallo on top.