They resemble the Italian panzerotti, but the difference between the two is that calzone is made of pizza dough, and Venezuelan empanadas are made of corn dough. They are so versatile. You can eat them with any type of filling and although they can be baked, they’re best when fried. With this recipe, I added three examples of empanadas: with shredded beef; with black beans and cheese; and mini empanadas (my husband’s idea and totally my favourite!) filled with Apericube cheeses. These super delicious French small cube cheeses come in a variety of flavours, and empanadas with these cubes are simply divine!! 

Recipe for 4 big or 12 mini empanadas

Ingredients

120 g (1 cup) of precooked corn flour (I use Harina PAN)

60 ml (¼ cup) of water

1-2 g (¼ to ½ tsp) of salt

Sunflower of your preferred frying oil (enough to deep fry all the empanadas)

Your favourite filling

A small bowl with some water

A piece of thick clingfilm

Method

Take the clingfilm and cut it into a large square. I prefer to use a large piece of plastic bag which I keep for this recipe only. It’s thicker and I find it most suited for empanadas. Just bear in mind that the material needs to be thick enough to manipulate the dough without breaking or getting messy.

Put the corn flour in a bowl and add salt and water.

Mix well for a couple of minutes until you get a soft and smooth dough that does not stick to the fingers. If necessary, add more water or flour (in very small quantities at a time) until you achieve the right consistency.

Split into 4 equal parts (or 12 if making mini empanadas) and make balls out of those.

Set up your counter with the film at the centre, with the dough, fillings, and the bowl of water all next to it.

Start preheating the oil in a deep-frying pan.

Wet your hand and rub the film to make it slightly wet. This will prevent the dough from getting stuck to it.

Grab a ball of dough, place it on the film, and flatten it into a disk about 4-5mm tall.

With your hands, try to make it as evenly tall as possible, and if necessary, moist your hands so that the thin dough doesn’t stick to them.

Put 2-3 tablespoons of your preferred filling right below the centre of the disc. Don’t add too much or otherwise the dough may break. Try to distribute evenly and leave at least one centimetre free on the edges to seal the empanada.

Grab the top of the film with both hands and carefully fold the disc in two, so that you have a semicircle.

Press the film with your finger and slide it over the edge of the empanada. Alternatively, you can use a pastry cutter or a saucer to assist you.

Open the film, remove any excess dough from the edges, and carefully remove the empanada from the cling film.

If using more than one type of filling for different empanadas, is a good idea to mark them before frying them. Otherwise, it will be difficult to tell them apart.

Put one empanada to fry and proceed to assemble the next one.

Fry until golden brown and lay them on paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

Let them rest for a few minutes before eating as they will be piping hot inside!

For the fillings:

Black beans and cheese

In Venezuela, this is called dominó (domino in English) as its black and white combination sort of resembles domino pieces. It is super easy to make. All you need to do is mix black beans with any sort of shredded fresh white cheese of your choice in about a 50/50 proportion. However, feel free to adapt it to your liking.

The most common type of cheese used for this in Venezuela is queso blanco duro (hard white cheese). Alternatives include any type of fresh white cheese that can be shredded (Mexican and Turkish varieties are excellent for this). Dry mozzarella for pizza, feta or mild cheddar cheese also works pretty well.

Shredded beef

In Venezuela, this is called carne mechada. To prepare it you only need to boil a piece of casserole beef for a couple of hours, shred it, and then finish it on a classic Venezuelan sofrito.

Ingredients

500 g single piece of casserole beef

½ red pepper (sweet)

2 medium onions

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 tomatoes

1 tsp of finely chopped parsley

1 tsp of finely chopped coriander

1-2 tbsp corn, sunflower or olive oil to stir try

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (can be replaced with light soy sauce)

Salt and pepper to your liking

Optional:

½ tsp paprika powder

½ tsp mild curry powder

¼ tsp adobo powder

Method

Boil the entire piece of beef with a pinch of salt for about 3 hours, or until it can be pulled apart easily. Leave to cool down for about 30 minutes and shred using the hands or a fork.

Chop the pepper, tomatoes, and onions into small pieces. You can either chop the garlic finely or mash it with a garlic press.

Put the oil in the pan, preheat, add the onions, and garlic and stir fry until they become golden.

Add the pepper, coriander and parsley, and when it dries up a bit, add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and any of the optional ingredients.

If it gets too dry, lower the heat and add a splash of water. Then, cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the mix and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Then, add another splash of water if necessary.

Add the shredded beef to the pan and mix well with all other ingredients.

Add about ½ cup of water to the pan and let cook on very low heat until only some of the moisture remains.

Adjust salt and/or spices if necessary, and your super tasty beef is ready!

Apericubes

Not at all a Venezuelan thing, but the sort of ideas that come up when an Italian-French marries a Venezuelan. 😊

This one is crazy straightforward. Apericubes are soft, so just take one and roll it into a ball or cylinder shape.

Put that into a mini disc of corn dough to form a mini empanada. And voilà! It’s really that simple and you won’t believe how good this combo is.

The best part is that Apericubes come in many different flavours, and a single box typically packs four different types of cheeses. So, you will have a variety of empanadas with very little effort.