Friday, December 14, 2007

SALTEÑAS FOR BREAKFAST



SALTEÑAS FOR BREAKFAST

Thought I’d share with you all my favorite breakfast food here. I go across the street and get “Dos salteñas picante, por favor.” For less than a dollar. I think Two Sisters Bakery should make them in Homer. They are a good tasty nutritional calorie fix that will keep you going for hours. The filling is savory and the dough kind of sweet. Although after watching the Utube video of someone making one, it seems kind of labor intensive. Two Sisters would have to charge more.

Leave it to Wikapedia to have the scoop on the name and origin!
Salteñas or Salteña are a type of empanada sold throughout Bolivia, although they are also available in some other countries (such as the USA, Argentina, Brazil and Chile). They originated in the southern department of Tarija.
Salteñas are savory pastries filled with beef, pork or chicken mixed in a sweet, slightly spicy or very spicy sauce, and sometimes also containing peas, potatoes and other ingredients.
Typically salteñas can be found in any town or city throughout the country, but each area has its variations; Cochabamba and Sucre claim to have the best version of this snack, and many will go out of their way to try the variation from Potosí. It is a tradition to enjoy salteñas as a mid-morning snack, although vendors often start selling salteñas very early in the morning. The pastries are sold anywhere from 7am to noon. What is astonishing is how quickly they are sold; many outlets are sold out by mid-morning.
Historian Antonio Paredes Candia states that during the early 1900s, Juana Manuela Gorriti was the first lady to create the current version of this product. This lady later married Presidente Manuel Isidoro Belzu. Gorriti was born in Salta, Argentina and was exiled to Tarija, Bolivia during the Juan Manuel de Rosas dictatorship. The Gorriti family endured extreme poverty, and they came up with the recipe in the early 1900s in order to make a living. A variation of these pastries was known at the time throughout most of Europe.
The product, nicknamed "salteña" (the term for a female citizen of Salta), became very popular. (from wikapedia)

I found this 2 min. U-tube video of someone making a Salteña, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUjkoFPdK6U

Below is a recipe. I don’t think they use the gelatin here as the gravy is runny as all get out. Anyone can tell if you are a true Cochabambiño if you can eat your salteña neatly!!

Bolivian Recipe for Salteñas

Its better if you make the dough and filling one day before and keep in the fridge. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and keep the filling covered to stop it drying out.
The dough:
6 cups flour
6 tablespoons lard
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups cool water
1 teaspoon salt
Sift the flour into a bowl, add salt and sugar. Melt the lard and add to the flour, add the remaining ingredients and mix well and knead for 5 mins.
The filling:
3 tablespoons lard
2 cusp white onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups gelatin
1/2 cup of red chile sauce
salt and sugar to taste
cumin and oregano to taste (2 - 3 teaspoons of each)
1 pound finely chopped meat
1 cup cooked peas
1 cup cooked potatoes cut into medium-sized cubes
1/2 cup raisins
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
5 black olives (watch out for the pits)
Gently fry the onions and when soft add the cumin, oregano, salt and sugar. Stir and fry for a couple of minutes then add the meat and continue frying. When the meat is browing add the chile sauce and cook a little while longer then remove and let cool. When cool mix the gelatin, potatoes and peas into the mixture. Refrigerate until the next day.
Making the Salteñas:
Roll out the dough into a sausage and cut into pieces large enough to roll into circles about 7 to 10 cm (2 1/2 to 4 inches) in diameter and 1/4 cm (about 1/8 inch) thick.
Add filling to each circle, top with raisons, egg and olives as desired. Brush the edges of the circle with egg or milk and fold over to seal the Salteñas shut. Make an edge by pressing your fingers along the seal.
Place onto a well greased baking tray and glaze the Salteñas with milk or egg.
Cook for 20 to 30 minutes in a oven pre heated to 300C/572F- until golden.
Leave standing on a cooling tray for 10 mins before eating. Keep refrigerated if not eating that day.


8 comments:

cycletech said...

Hay That’s my video!

Every day I was in Cochabamba and Trinidad At around 10am to 11 I would also go for salteñas picante

http://www.mytravelphotoblog.com/bolivia.html

cycletech said...

Travel Blog Bolivia

let said...

I looooooove saltenas! Last had them in 2003 but every once in a while I get a crazy craving for them. Unfortunately I live in WY so there are no Bolivians within probably 1,000 miles. : ( Maybe someday I'll buck up and make some. Thanks for the tasty memories!

titanium said...

the gelatin is so you can make the stew stay in the dough when you're making it! when the salteña is cooked and hot served, the gelatin melts. So yeah, they are runny. and sticky. But so tasty!

Unknown said...

Saltenas are awesome although I've never had one for breakfast! My mom is Bolivian and I have been making them for years...and yes, it is a lot of work! I make about 4 batches of 50 a year and keep them frozen so I can just pop a couple in the oven whenever I need one. I came across this blog when I was trying to see if anyone has a secret for keeping them from leaking in the oven. Usually, about half of mine come out perfect and the other half lose a bunch of their yummy "jugo". The saltenerias in Bolivia must have a secret because they couldn't afford to have half of their batches bursting??! I would love to find out how they do it!!!!

Unknown said...

Saltenas are awesome although I've never had one for breakfast! My mom is Bolivian and I have been making them for years...and yes, it is a lot of work! I make about 4 batches of 50 a year and keep them frozen so I can just pop a couple in the oven whenever I need one. I came across this blog when I was trying to see if anyone has a secret for keeping them from leaking in the oven. Usually, about half of mine come out perfect and the other half lose a bunch of their yummy "jugo". The saltenerias in Bolivia must have a secret because they couldn't afford to have half of their batches bursting??! I would love to find out how they do it!!!!

Birdieboy said...

Just ate 2 salteñas, one chicken and one beef. I live in Ohio but for a few minutes my palate transported me to Bolivia. They were just like the real deal at El Prado in Cochabamba. I paid about $3 for each and it was totally worth it. I got them at Bolivian Specialties (303) 800-0097 or wendy@mapoca.net. I paid for overnight shipping via FedEx, next time I plan to order around 80 to keep frozen and use on special weekends with my friends !!

Birdieboy said...

Just ate 2 salteñas, one chicken and one beef. I live in Ohio but for a few minutes my palate transported me to Bolivia. They were just like the real deal at El Prado in Cochabamba. I paid about $3 for each and it was totally worth it. I got them at Bolivian Specialties (303) 800-0097 or wendy@mapoca.net. I paid for overnight shipping via FedEx, next time I plan to order around 80 to keep frozen and use on special weekends with my friends !!