I turned up at the chef Carlos Gaviria's home in Bogotá, Colombia, totally expecting to bite right into something surprisingly delicious, but I did not anticipate to have my mind blown.

Previously that month, he had actually welcomed my family members by means of Instagram straight message to cook with him during our newest journey to my other half, Adri's, indigenous Colombia.

The chef, a professor of food studies at the University of La Sabana, is the writer of 2 scholarly publications on Colombian cuisine. The very first, "Técnicas Profesionales de Cocina Colombiana" (Professional Techniques of Colombian Cuisine), is quickly the most thorough overview to the nation's regional food I've ever checked out, while the 2nd, "Arepas Colombianas," is a deep dive right into the variations of corn cakes, the country's staple food.

That remarkably delicious point can be found in the kind of a straightforward fried arepa made from fresh machine made dough, with deep corn flavor and also crunch. But the part that left me without words was the secret ingredient that supplied that amazing taste as well as structure: popcorn.

Yet, prior to we reach that, let's speak about the dough, the element that makes a really fantastic arepa or empanada-- simply I would argue as the secret to a great taco is the tortilla, or a great pizza is in the crust. In Colombia, that dough is typically made with masarepa: corn that is parcooked, dried out as well as ground right into a flour.

Masarepa is luring. All you need to do is include warm water, knead it a touch, let it rest as well as you've got masa, ready to shape right into empanadas or arepas. I've snooped bags of P.A.N., the most preferred brand name in Colombia, in practically every residence cooking area I've seen across the country (as well as in an excellent deal of dining establishments, too).

But the ideal masa is made from dried out corn that is steamed as well as grated fresh (either whole bit, or maíz pelao, corn that is treated with alkaline lime and peeled, referred to as nixtamal in Mexico). Unlike the consistent high quality of masarepa, the structure of freshly crushed corn is coarser and extra varied, causing masa that french fries up with more surface area, even more crisis and also even more corny taste.

Mr. Gaviria's popcorn revelation came when he understood that, while dried out damage or flour corn may be challenging for an American like me to discover, popcorn is readily available. So he attempted boiling regular supermarket snacks in a stress stove prior to passing it via a hand-crank grain mill as well as massaging it with a little water right into masa. The taste and also texture was exceptional.


Definitely, I thought to myself, this functions just with Colombian popcorn. The corn ranges we see in the United States are various from those offered in Colombia, as well as popcorn, while similar to the flint or damage corn usually utilized for arepas and also empanadas, is a distinct range.

When I returned to the United States, the first thing I did was order a Colombian-made hand-crank grain mill (Victoria brand, which you can find online for around $50) as well as try it out with common American snacks, directly from the grocery shelf.

To my joy, it worked completely, and also we were dealt with to the finest Colombian empanadas we've eaten outside Colombia.

Ever since, I've tested this technique making use of a couple of various brand names of popcorn, with and also without the stress stove. (To do it without, saturate the snacks over night in enough water to permit it to triple in quantity, then boil it for concerning 2 hrs, up until the kernels are fractured open.).


I've additionally successfully created masa by grinding the corn in a mixer. The appearance is not rather as intriguing as what you 'd obtain from a grain mill, but it's still jumps and also bounds much better than dough made from masarepa. Not that masarepa makes negative dough-- I still maintain a bag of it on hand for when Adri as well as I need our empanada fix in a rush-- but compared to fresh grated masa, its crispness is fleeting, its corn flavor shallow.

The only reasonably complicated part, whether making use of snacks or masarepa, is obtaining the water material right. After cooking the snacks kernels, I drain them, grind them, then add water to the masa a few tablespoons at once.

Working corn masa is a little bit different from massaging a wheat flour-based dough. Wheat flour kinds gluten, the healthy protein network that offers bread its chewiness and elasticity. Corn masa does not. That indicates that working masa is much more like smearing, and also much less like folding as well as extending. I position the dough on a cutting board, then press it with the heel of my hand, smearing it out, regathering it, as well as repeating. If you're acquainted with the fraisage method used for making flaky bread, you understand.

The dough prepares when you can create a golf ball-size mass and press it in between two sheets of plastic into a circle about three inches in size, without the masa fracturing or breaking around the edges excessively.

Compared to a wheat-based dough, corn masa is, fortunately, very easy to collaborate with. It acts similar to Play-Doh. No issue if you inadvertently create a hole in it. You can squeeze it back with each other quickly.

Empanadas can come loaded with a selection of flavors: the tiny, half-dollar-sized empanadas de pipián of Popayán, served with a spicy peanut sauce; hefty empanadas de arroz in Bogotá, loaded with rice and also meat; or the most typical selection, ground meat and also potatoes seasoned with hogao, a cooked blend of onion as well as tomato. Both the filling as well as masa can be made several days in advance, which makes day-of preparation as simple as packing empanadas, and also frying them.

To fry, I choose to use a large frying pan. The flared sides keep your stovetop tidy from spatter, as well as the vast form gives you lots of area to steer a steel crawler or slotted spoon under the empanadas as they fry. A Dutch oven is your following finest wager.

Just like all fried foods, the finest means to stop burns is to lower the empanadas into the fryer with a slotted spoon, or if including by hand, delicately reduced the empanadas right into the oil, dropping them just when your hand is virtually touching the hot surface. Going down from high up is exactly how you finish up with warm oil splashes on your arms.

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