April 6, 1999
Louie's Pastelitos
Turnovers or as we refer to them ......Pastelitos,
are fun, .and they are fun to eat. They are good-for-you food - the handheld pie that
tastes so good any time: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, dessert. So next time you hear
the word "turnover" let your mouth water as you conjure up all kinds of good
foods in a folded dough. The flaky crust that comes apart in your hands as the filling
melts in your mouth. With your favorite beverage they are almost a meal in
themselves.
My only suggetion is the following recipe: if you bake them or deep fry them yell Capira
before they go into the oven. To make them authentic Capira style use green
onions. This is one of the key secret ingredients.
El Pastelitos big brother is the Empanada. If they’re mouth-size ....they must be
pastelito!
Sometimes at home we make what is called Chorizo Pastelitos or some call empanaditas or as
some gringos call Sausage Turnovers.
What you need: *** Pastry from all-purpose flour. Or take a short cut and buy 9-inch
double crust pie. I don’t really recommend this. I like to do mine from scratch. You
also need some baking powder. I use “Clabber Girl” brand. You are going to be
using a pinch or two. Think a little bit. If you use to much your Pastelito in the oven
will reach critical mass and explode in your oven creating a large mess.
*** Chorizo can be hot cajun, hot Mexican, Polish, or your favorite brand. ***
Now comes the secret ingredient ......the Green Onions with a bit of tomato paste or
ketchup ( I personally like the tomato paste. A little dab will do you. Now you got
to chop everything up. You can also use a bit of Garlic if you are Italian. Maybe that is
where the Capira comes in......heh,heh. The main thing is think less and think small and
think good! Now you go to the HOW:
How you do it:
1. Roll pastry to 1/8 inch thickness on lightly floured board. Cut pastry into
circles that are 3” but they can be smaller in diameter. Set aside.
2. Remove casings from Chorizo. Fry chorizo in a small skillet at medium heat. Drain
away excessive oil. Of course you can keep this for making a rice dish on another
day. It gives rice a nice taste. Keep oil in fridge to avoid it getting
rancid. Of course this has nothing to do with what we are doing. Just got kind of
side tracked.
3. Now combine chorizo, sour cream(optional ingredient) and chile in small mixing
bowl.
4. Place a spoonful of mixture, off center, on each pastry circle. Fold pastry in
half over filling, and pinch edges together to seal. Pierce top of pastelitos with points
of the fork.
5. Place pastelitos (empanaditas) on an ungreased baking sheet and bake
in at 450 degrees F oven for 10-20 minutes or until golden. You can have a bit of
melted butter to brush on to get that really flaky taste. But don’t over do it.
Yields: Approximately 2-1/2 dozen. But if you think small you might produce
even more
Now is the time to kick back with your favorite beverage and put on a Lucho CD. And
enjoy!
Well, that is all for now I hope you have a ball making a batch of Pastelitos San the
Capira. If you yell Capira, it is almost like being there.
CZBrats
April 6, 1999