Empanadas: My Ultimate Comfort Food

We did not have a lot of Latin food growing up.  Two years of medical school in Guadalajara did nothing but foster disdain in my Father for beans and tortilla.  Homemade burritos were a semi-annual dinner, if that.  Mexican takeout happened, but again, not with any frequency.  Chili, a staple in some of my best friends' houses (Ah, Jackie's mom's chili!), was never made at our house.  Foods that I have since come to appreciate and adore, foods like yucca, plantains, and chimichurri were just not on anybody's radar.

Why then, and how then, did I fall so helplessly in love with empanadas?

It happened in college.  Well, actually, it happened out of college - but during my college years.  I studies abroad junior year in Buenos Aires.  While there, I became an Argentine-ophile: I learned to dance the tango, studied Incan folk instruments, hiked the Andes, watched football, disregarded the upper buttons of my shirt, drank mate, and yes, I ate a lot of empanadas.

Buenos Aires offered wonderful street food.  There were the pan rellenos (stuffed breads) that I enjoyed every weekend at the Recoleta Market, filled with tomato, mozzarella and basil, or with meat, or cheese and oregano.  There were choripan, grilled chorizos on grinder rolls, dowsed with chimichurri sauce (a relish of oil, garlic, parsley and other herbs).  There were of course good old fashioned hot dogs, only they went by the wonderfully esoteric name "superpanchos."  Makes you wonder about the origin of our word for the thing.  I mean, really, why hot dog?  There were also the ubiquitous sandwiches available in every corner deli and restaurant, the milanesa; essentially a Weinerschnitzel, breaded veal cutlet, on bread with lettuce, tomato and onion.

But there was really nothing quite like an empanada.  A thick doughy crust, hiding delectable treats inside.  The most basic fillings in Argentina for empanadas are beef, chicken, cheese, ham and cheese, and corn.  There are, however, endless potential fillings, and I have tried, chicken liver, trout, squid, chorizo, and a variety of empanadas dulces (sweet fillings).  It is always fun to try different varieties of empanadas; you can discover a lot of great combinations and fillings.  But in my experience, no matter how tasty an exotic filling to an empanada, there is just no beating beef.

Different parts of Latin America, and even different regions within a country prepare empanadas in their own ways.  There may be differences in the dough, in the fillings, or in the seasoning.  The greatest differences between regional preparations that I have tasted come down to two choices: large or small and baked or fried.  Now I have to admit, the tastiest empanadas that have ever had were small and fried, but when I make them, I cook them Buenos Aires style, large and baked.

Because the process can be time consuming, I use pre-made empanada dough.  It saves a lot of time, and Goya makes good discs.  For the filling, I essentially follow this recipe.  Mine have beef, onion, garlic, chilies, tomatoes, raisins, olives, cumin, oregano or marjoram, and are topped with a slice of hard-boiled egg.

Assembling the Empanadas to Bake

Once together, I crimp the edges, and bake them in a hot oven, sometimes finishing them under the broiler, 10-15 minutes.

Empanadas de Carne

When I lived in Argentina, three empanadas was a typical lunch for me once or twice a week.  Occasionally I would have little homemade ones for dinner.  Then I could scarf down ten or twelve.  Vanessa and I each have four or five of these for dinner, and the leftovers make great lunches.

Empanadas con Ensalada

So for nostalgia of my Latin life, empanadas have become my ultimate comfort food.  Like Chinese dumplings, Indian samosas, and hell, like beef wellington, they prove that when you take meat and wrap it in dough, it's going to taste good.  It's going to taste really good.

The Pre-Paschal Lamb

Bread and Leg of Lamb, 1866, Paul Cezanne

The paschal lamb was the ritual sacrifice commanded by God to the Jewish people during the the time of Passover, or Pesach.  In the story of the exodus from Egypt, God inflicted upon the Egyptians ten plagues, the last of which, slaying of the first born son, convinced the Pharaoh to let the Jewish slaves go free.  Prior to the tenth plague, God commanded the Jewish people to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb.  Only by this marker, would the angel of death know to pass over the Jewish homes, and spare their first born sons.  Forty years later, when the Jews were free in the land of Israel, the ordained korban Pesach (Pesach sacrifice) came into practice.  On the eve of Passover, an unblemished, one-year-old, male lamb or goat was offered in the temple by each family.  It was then carried to the homes, and roasted on a spit.  The entire lamb (or goat) had to be eaten that night at the seder dinner with bitter herbs and with matzo.

The days of The Temple are long gone, and it has been ages since Jews practiced animal sacrifice.  In the modern seder, vestige of this ancient tradition is represented by the zeroa, a lamb bone, displayed on the seder plate.  Lamb and goat meat are rarely on the evening's menu. 

My family's seder at my brother's house in Los Angeles was no exception to this.  We had brisket, mashed potatoes, vegetables, matzo ball soup, egg salad - all traditional stuff.  But there was something special about our seder plate this year, and that was the lamb bone.  This bone was not purchased at a kosher butcher or grocery for the express purpose representing the korban Pesach.  No this lamb bone was just a practical application of leftovers.

Our Seder Plate

As I mentioned in my last couple of posts, my family was together in Los Angeles celebrating the birth of my nephew, Noah.  Normally, a family vacation is an excuse for a whole lot of restaurant eating, but with a newborn baby and a post caesarean-section mommy, we cooked in or took out every night.  One night we took out Thai food, another night it was pizza, one night I cooked ravioli in a tomato and mushroom sauce, and one night we had lamb.

We purchased a six pound leg of New Zealand lamb from Whole Foods.  The night before the feast, I marinated the leg in a mix of Dijon mustard and lemon juice, with a lot of salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary, marjoram and sage from Bill's lush California herb garden.

The meat marinated for a day, and the next evening, I placed it in a roasting pan on top of a bed of mixed potatoes and onion chunks, with olive oil, more seasonings, and some whole sprigs of rosemary.  An oversight from earlier, at this point I also slid some slices of garlic into incisions in the lamb. 

This is what went into the oven.

And two hours later, this is what came out.

For the rest of the menu, my brother took care of grilling some zucchini, squash and onion, while I open-flame roasted some red peppers.  Mom made a wonderful salad, with sunflower seeds, strawberries, grapes, and fresh tangerines grown from Bill's backyard, along with other goodness.  There was a challah, and I had bought a couple bottles of Bordeaux wine.

The Spread

Salad, Grilled Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Lamb Juice, 

Grilled Chicken (for my sister), Herbed Dijon Roast Leg of Lamb, Sesame Challah 

 The Lamb

All sliced and ready to eat

 Grilled Squash, Zucchini and Vidalia Onion and Flame-Roasted Red Peppers

Roasted Fingerling, Red and Purple Potatoes

With Rosemary and Lamb Juice

Dinner was wonderful.  I felt very proud of this meal.  It was great to have the whole family together, and we certainly had cause for celebration.  Noah lay in a bassinet next to the dinner table, and seemed equally content with his pacifier (he had been eating all day). 

A couple days later was the the next big meal, out Passover seder.  Dish preparations were delegated.  My sister-in-law's mom made the brisket.  My mom and I handled the matzo ball soup.  It was a typical week of excellent eating, made extra special by the company and the occasion.

Special thanks to Bill and Carin for the use of their awesome camera for today's pictures.  I have delicious plans for when you guys come and visit next month!  Can't wait.

Something New in Honor of Someone New

Not much to write, but here are a couple meals from last week.  Below is some fresh sweet potato gnocchi in a roasted red pepper and corn cream sauce.  Next to it, is an arugula salad that Vanessa made.  This creamy pasta was enjoyed by all three house mates, after a weekend of everyone being out of town.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

in a Roasted Red Pepper and Corn Cream Sauce

Arugula Salad

This past week, I had some very exciting news.  My brother and sister-in-law in Los Angeles welcomed a new baby boy into their lives.  As I write now, I am out in California visiting them with my sister and parents.  The new boy is very, very cute!  He was born Friday night, and in honor of the new arrival we tried something new for dinner on Saturday.  I have a great Asian Cookbook with really tasty recipes from China, India, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and Singapore.  I have made many dishes in the past from this book, but Saturday night I tried my hand at Burmese food for the first time.

Dry Burmese Fish Curry

with Rice, Broccoli and Caramelized Papaya

The fish curry is made with tilapia.  The sauce is a very straight forward South Asian dish: onion, garlic, ginger, chillies, turmeric, fish sauce and lime.  I suppose the book called it a "dry curry" because the dry ingredients are all chopped up in a food processor, while the fish marinates in fish sauce.  The dry ingredients are then cooked, and then the fish is added.  It is finished with the lime. 

Vanessa made the broccoli and the papaya.  I really recommend making the papaya.  Chop it up, and sear it for a minute or so on a very high heat, adding a little salt, pepper and lime juice.  The trick is to not cook it too long or on too low a heat, so that the sugars in the fruit quickly caramelize.  We topped everything with some fresh cilantro.  Very nice.

New food for my new nephew!  Hurray!!!  Stay tuned for the next post.  Tonight, I am cooking at my brother's house for eight people.  It is a bit of a feast, and it is a bit ridiculous. 

Tuesday: The Most Romantic Night of the Week

Our housemate Sarah works crazy hours, and is only home for dinner about half of the week.  One night, Tuesday, is a guaranteed "No Sarah Night."  So Vanessa and I have taken this unsuspecting day of the week, and through no plan or premeditation turned it into the most romantic evening of the week.

A wonderful treat for me, has been that Vanessa is sharing more of the cooking, and mind you, doing so in a positively delicious manner.  A couple Tuesdays ago Vanessa made a linguine and mussels marinara.  The red sauce was heavily flavored with chunks of garlic, diced vidalia onion, and wine.  It had a little spice to it, and an amazing fishy flavor.  The mussels had been sitting overnight in a bowl of salt water to keep them alive.  When they cooked and opened up in the sauce, it was like adding a rich, salty fish stock to the tomatoes.  The thrill of eating this pasta came from taking the mussels like a spoon, and with chunks of garlic, onion, tomatoes, and broth, devouring the crustaceans out of their shells.  Honestly, the mussels and sauce were so delicious that the linguine itself was almost superfluous... almost.  It was as good a pasta-with-seafood dish as any I've had in a restaurant. 

I am sorry to say however, that in our gastronomic euphoria and slight inebriation, we neglected to snap any photos to post.  My apologies.  My imagery will have to suffice.

The next Tuesday, we reprised our romantic dinner.  I was away at work all day, while Vanessa was home on a day off.  The preceding night I had taken two inexpensive cuts of lamb shank, and marinated them in dijon mustard, and a rub of ground cumin, fennel, herbs de provence, salt and pepper.  In the early afternoon, Vanessa took the shanks and browned them, then reduced the heat and added wine, stock, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and fresh rosemary.  The shanks slow-braised for close to five hours. 

While they cooked, Vanessa had time to go about her day: getting her hair done, doing cartwheels, juggling torches - typical stuff.  When I got home from work, I returned to a wonderfully aromatic house and a beautiful straight-haired woman who greatly resembled my girlfriend (FYI: Vanessa is a curly-haired redhead).  It was a beautiful day, and the sun was getting lower in they sky.  We decided to drive to the beach for a sunset stroll.  If the smell of braising lamb had not already set the mood, then a walk along a sand bar at low tide did the trick. 

When we returned home, the aromas permeating the air were even more intense than when we had left.  We finished up the cooking.  Vanessa got to work on her famous garlic mashed potatoes, prepared this night with the addition of minced scallion and parsley.  Meanwhile, I took over the main dish, removing the shanks, and reducing the sauce.  When the liquid had largely evaporated and the flavor had concentrated, I stirred in some sour cream to further thicken the gravy.  I also threw together an arugula salad with a homemade raspberry wine vinaigrette and some vegetables.  One of us thought to throw a baguette into the oven to toast.  And before long, we were ready to dine.

Vanessa with Her Straightened Hair at Our Last Romantic Dinner

We like to say that Vanessa specializes in comfort food and I specialize in gourmet food.  This dinner was a wonderful meeting of the two. At its core, it was meat, potatoes and a salad.  But the flavor and tenderness of the lamb was just outstanding.  And the starch and vegetables were perfect complements.  Also adding to the experience was some Enrico Rava, an Italian trumpeter, in the background and some Don Miguel Gascón, our favorite bottle of Malbec wine, in the foreground.

Slow Braised Lamb Shank

with Vegetables and Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Arugula Salad with Raspberry Wine Vinegarette

Warm Baguette and Gascon Malbec

Sadly, Vanessa had to work the following Tuesday night.  But we shall see what the coming weeks have in store.

Dinner and a Movie

Sarah was having an online dinner date with her California boyfriend, and so Vanessa and I followed suit with dinner and a movie. 

Vanessa

Two personalized vegetarian nacho platters, containing: chips, salsa, sour cream, cheddar cheese, black beans, corn, red pepper, red onion, serrano chilies (HOT!), and scallions.  We started with some grapefruit, watching previews while the cheese melted over the nachos in the oven.  Also we both had a beer.  Mine was a Raging Bitch Belgian Style Indian Pale Ale and Vanessa had a homemade Blackberry Wheat Micro Brew gifted to her by her friend who makes beer.

The movie we watched was The Lives of Others, which I must say, is an amazing film.  It won an Oscar in 2006 or 2007 for best foreign language film.  The story is set in East Berlin, in the height of corruption and government surveillance.  A writer who is a loyal communist and a good man becomes heavily scrutinized by the state for his associations with blacklisted artists.  The film develops around a Stasi (secret police) officer who is spying on the writer, and becomes witness to the corruption destroying his life.  It is a very powerful film about good people in bad situations.  It was really beautifully done, and clearly, was a wonderful pairing with nachos.  Here's the food:

Nacho Platters and Beer



Sui Mai

Sui mai, or "shumai," as it may be pronounced, is one of the most common dumplings found in Cantonese dim sum.  There are countless variations of this dish throughout Asian cuisines, but to me sui mai has always meant one thing: sticky, steaming, savory morsels of pork, shrimp and scallions in a thin, starchy, open-topped wrapper. 

My older brother first introduced me to the steamy world of dim sum when I was about ten years old.  Visiting him in Boston while he was in college, meant that I was introduced to the foods that he was discovering away from home.  It was in this time of my life that I first tried Indian food, and it was in this time that I first set foot into a Cantonese dim sum parlor. 

For those who have not had the pleasure, dim sum is sort of a Chinese-brunch version of what the Spanish call tapas.  They are small dishes.  Frequently, but not exclusively, they are dumplings, and they may be steamed, deep fried, pan fried, or boiled.  Historically, they developed in China as a snack to accompany tea.  Dim sum parlors took off, and the whole affair developed into its own branch of the restaurant industry.  In classic dim sum parlors, Chinese women push around steel carts carrying towering piles of steaming bowls, plates of fried goodness, and the inevitable dishes of unidentifiables to western eaters. 

The whole affair is lot of fun!  It is always inexpensive, and it is always delicious! 

Recently this month, Sarah, Vanessa and I took our swing at homemade dim sum.  We made three types of sui mai: the classic shrimp/pork dumpling, an all pork dumpling, and for Sarah, after seeing that our chicken had gone bad, an impromptu chicken nugget sui mai.  I think that I may need to patent that last one.  It was pretty awesome.  Here are some pictures:

Sui Mai in the Steamer

Shrimp/Pork Sui Mai on a Flower Plate

The Last Chicken Nugget Sui Mai and Chicken Nuggets

The shrimp and pork dumpling was from a recipe that I found on-line.  Then with the leftover ground pork, I made up a dumpling filling with ground fennel, soy sauce, scallion, sriracha, fish sauce, a little sesame oil and of course, the meat.  The chicken nugget dumpling was chopped up nugget,  soy sauce, fish sauce and scallion.

YUM YUM DIM SUM!!!!!!!!!!

Pizza and Sushi

Well it's been a while since my first couple of posts, and imaginably, some tastiness has transpired.  Where to begin...

Since Sarah, Vanessa and I moved into the Norwalk apartment each of the gals have trumpeted a dinner call.  "Let's make homemade pizza!" Vanessa would declare every week for four to five months.

Or, "OH!!!  I want to make sushi!" from Sarah, for just as long..

Well finally it happened.  Not in one night mind you, but within one week, the ladies finally got what they wanted.  Let's start with the pizza, since this was cooked the weekend before the sushi.

I actually found this to be not a big deal to cook.  Vanessa, a woman possessing the baking skills that all men must dream of in a girlfriend, handled the dough, while I cut up and prepared the toppings.  When making homemade pizza, I really prefer a real rustic look, with the dough rolled out into whatever amorphous shape is easiest to attain while creating the largest pie.  I also generally prefer thin crust pizza.

Here are a couple of our pies:

 The Meat Pie

Beef Kielbasa, Pepperoni, Red Peppers, Caramelized Onions, 

with Asiago Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Tomato Sauce and Herbs

On the periphery of this photo you will notice some of another pie.  That one was asparagus and caramelized onion with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, and red sauce and basil.  All good stuff.

The Veggie Pie

Asparagus, Mushroom, Red Pepper

with Three Cheeses, Red Sauce and Herbs

The pizza was delicious!  We forwent the formal sit down meal this night in favor of a eat-while-you-work kind of thing.  We were always making one pizza, while another one cooked, while another one was devoured, all with a steady flow of wine in our glasses.  A good time was had.


Then the next week end... damn.

You need to understand, this was the night of the Superbowl.  While not heavily vested in either of the teams, I was looking forward to sitting on the couch and doing nothing.  I was planning on making a big platter of nachos and sitting down to watch the game.  Sarah was thinking otherwise.  After week after week of hearing the same line, "OH!  We should make sushi!"  I succumbed to peer pressure.  Okay, fine, on the night of the Superbowl we can make sushi and watch the game.

There are a few problems here.  Firstly, of all the cuisines in the world, there is perhaps none so refined, none so specialized, and none so artful as Japanese.  I am well aware of this, and not surprisingly to readers of this blog, I am rather a sushi elitist.  I was not about to make mediocre sushi if I could help it.  Second problem, I was away in the afternoon and Sarah did not begin to make the rice until I got home and the game was about to begin.  Third problem, we wanted to make a few types of sushi.  Fourth problem, Sarah did not make enough rice.  Fifth problem, we were using a kit, which contained a novella of instructions that we did not take the time to fully read.  Sixth problem, one of our two fishes could not be eaten raw (apparently).  Seventh problem, and perhaps the worst of all, I was already hungry.

So the game began, and with it, the preparations for the rice.  Sushi rice takes a long time to prepare.  You need to get it just right so that its fluffy and sticky.  Like everything having to do with sushi preparation, it is an art.  Customarily, when someone apprentices to make sushi professionally, the first skill they must master is how to make the rice.  Many sushi masters with workers under them still prefer to prepare the rice themselves, to get it just right.  Our rice, after some minor bottom burning (from following the instructions about the heat instead of going with our instincts), turned out all right - mostly.  The only real problem was the quantity.  It took a little over an hour to prepare the rice.  Thank heavens for DVR.

All the while that Sarah was working on the rice, I was chopping away with my Shun knives.  I spent forever, making the finest matchsticks of carrot and cucumber imaginable.  I cut thin strips of chicken breast, covered them in panko and deep fried them.  I diced scallions, and dry roasted a mix of black and white sesame seeds.  I prepared the tuna into what I was guessing was the right shaped cut for rolls (again, another art that I knew absolutely nothing about.  Then upon reading that Mahi Mahi should not be had raw, I threw it in a pan with some ponzu, soy sauce, mirin and ginger.  What a pain in the ass!  It would have been half time by now, and I had the television paused and still hadn't watched a minute.

I started to snack on raw tuna sashimi, and pick at whatever I could find.  Poor Sarah, I was so hungry, I must have been quite obnoxious to be around.  When all of the prep work was done, I left Sarah to make the rolls, while I grumpily watched some of the game.  My stomach at this point made it all too obvious to me how little I actually cared about these teams.  I just wanted to eat.  The hell with the Superbowl - it was nearing 10:00.

Two and a half hours after we started working, we sat down at the table to eat.

Tuna Sushi and Sashimi

Tempura Chicken Sushi (and extra tempura chicken)

Cucumber/Asparagus Sushi

Carrot/Cucumber/Scallion Sushi

The Rest of the Table

Mahi Mahi at the bottom