Making Empanadas (recipe included)!

As we learn more about the biodiversity and ecological components of the Costa Rican cloud forest, we also want to take time to appreciate the culture and history of Costa Rica! This Wednesday, the Women in STEM were invited to a cooking class with staff members on campus! Here, we learned how to make empanadas de queso! We first mixed the ingredients to make the dough, seperated the dough into individual balls, flattened the balls into small circles, then filled with cheese and closed! The amazing staff here made the process easy and exciting! Once the empanadas were fried, the girls were able to enjoy their home-cooked meals!

Our Empanada Recipe:

The recipe is commonly used in Costa Rican (and Latine) cultures. Because of its widespread use, there are no specific measurements for each ingredient! 

Masa Flour (base of recipe, will need large amount)

The following ingredients are added at your own discrection! (We were recommended to add until it was colored, but not overpowering):

salt
bell pepper
onion
cilantro
black pepper
complete seasoning
lizano salsa

Water is then added until the mixture because a dough with a near playdough consistency.

The dough is seperated into smaller balls, flattened into circles on a plastic wrap (this will help with transfer later). Now you are ready to stuff your empanadas!

Possible fillings for empanadas:

Cheese

Chicken (shredded chicken with vegetables)

Beef (cooked ground beef and cheese)

Vegetables (diced vegetables with tomato paste)

And anything you can think of!

Place the filling on one half of the dough, fold over, and seal by hand or with a fork.

Finally, fry the empanada in oil until the shell is golden brown (and enjoy:)!