Colombian beef empanadas

Ingredients

Filling:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup peeled diced potatoes (1/4 inch)
• 2 cups diced sirloin steak (1/4 inch)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
• 1 cup of diced ripen tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 garlic clove finely chopped
• salt and pepper
• Dough
• 2 cups yellow precooked cornmeal (Harina PAN)
• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• a pinch of baking powder
• Vegetable oil to deep fry.

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Preparation

• Place the potatoes in a medium heavy pot covered with salted water and bring to boil until the potatoes are tender, proximately 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• In a large sauce pan, heat the oil on medium heat and add the diced sirloin, pan fry until brown and cooked about 5 minutes. Add in the scallion, the garlic and cook for 3 more minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, cumin, salt and pepper and cook stirring for another 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and with a potato masher, mash lightly some of them to thicken the sauce but not too much. Leave some potato dices in the mix. Set aside and let cool.
• Dough :
  In a large bowl mix the cornmeal, salt and baking powder. Add the water and incorporate with a fork. Add the vegetable oil and work the dough with your hands until soft and elastic. Let set for 15 minutes.
  
• To make the Empanadas:
  Line a work surface with a sheet of plastic sprayed with oil. Place a small ball of dough and cover with another sheet. Using a roller pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Lift the plastic on top and place a tablespoonful of the filling in the center of the flatten dough and turn over using the top layer of plastic. Cut the empanada with a cookie cutter making the half moon shape, lift the top layer and place the empanada on a tray until ready to fry. Repeat the process for each empanada.
• Frying the Empanadas :
  In a deep heavy pot or a fryer machine, heat the oil to 365 F degrees. Place the empanadas one by one leaving enough room for them not to stick to each other. Fry until crunchy and brown about 6 minutes.
• Drain over paper towel and serve hot with Aji. These can be frozen raw and fry them frozen whenever you need. Or if you have a party you can fry, let cool and freeze them, and just reheat them in a wire rack in the oven before serving.

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