Salteñas

By carvalhohm

Ingredients

• 1 cup lard or margarine
• 1 cup ground spicy red pepper (cayenne) mixed with water
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon black ground pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon crumbled oregano
• 1 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 2 cups white onion, cut into small cubes
• 1 1/2 cups green onion, finely chopped
• 3 pounds lean meat, cut into small cubes
• 1 cup potato, peeled, cooked, and cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup cooked green peas
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
• 1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
• 2 spoonfuls unflavored gelatin dissolved in 3 cups water
• 1/2 black olive per salteña
• 3 raisins per salteña
• 1 slice of boiled egg per salteña

Details

Adapted from boliviaweb.com

Preparation

Step 1

In casserole add margarine and spicy red pepper. Set to boil over high heat until margarine separates from pepper. Next add cumin, ground black pepper, oregano, and salt. Let cook for ten minutes over low heat so mixture does not stick. Stir constantly. Next add white onion and let it cook for five more minutes. Finally add green onion.

Remove casserole from heat, add sugar, vinegar, parsley, potato and cooked peas.

In another casserole add three gelatin cups. Let it cook over high heat and as soon as it starts to boil, add meat. Mix quickly and remove from the heat.

Mix first preparation with gelatin and meat. Let it cool in refrigerator one night or until it thickens. If wanted, add the olives, raisins and egg before it thickens or add them directly on the dough when preparing the salteñas.

DOUGH

12 cups flour
1½ cups margarine (boiling)
6 whole eggs
½ cup sugar
3 teaspoons salt
2¼ cups lukewarm water (more or less)

Sift flour in a bowl and add boiling margarine. Mix quickly with wood spoon. Let it cool for a few minutes and add eggs, sugar and lukewarm water with salt. Knead until getting dry dough. Cover dough with kitchen towel and let it rest for ten minutes.

Divide all dough into fifty small balls and thin them out one by one with a roller, until getting round-shaped pieces (about ¼ of and inch thick by 5 inches of diameter).

On each round-shaped piece put a spoonful filling with olive, raisins and egg, if these ingredients were not mixed before.

Dampen edges of each piece with water, fold each one and join edges very well so that each salteña is closed perfectly. Leave closing on top.

Put salteñas, on baking sheet sprinkled with flour. Place each salteña separate from next one. Bake them at a high temperature oven 572 degrees.) between seven to ten minutes. Serve them warm.

NOTE: If desired, paint salteñas before baking them. In frying pan add 6 spoonfuls of margarine, 2 spicy red peppers (ground), 4 spoonfuls of water and a teaspoon of salt. Mix ingredients and cook them over low heat until the water evaporates. Remove mixture from heat and paint each salteña with kitchen brush.

NOTE 2: If desired, you can substitute meat with chicken, or you can combine both.