Eating Around the World (From Home....And Gluten Free...): Bolivia

Welcome to Bolivia! Confession here...I get Bolivia and Belize mixed up all the time! I put Bolivia in Central America and Belize in South America. Couldn't be more wrong...Also, every time I hear "Bolivia", I think of an episode of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. If you've watched the show, you know what I mean! But, back to the purpose of this blog. According to Google, Bolivia has 11.43 million people, and the capital is La Paz, Sucre. Their national dish is...

Saltenas!

They are basically an empanada, but instead of a solid filling, the filling is soup! Sounded complicated to make, but to tell you the truth, this was one I was really looking forward to doing. It just was fascinating to me! The pictures looked delicious too. To go along with our saltenas, I made Cunape's, which is basically a Brazi Bite, and Helado de Canela (Cinnamon Sorbet). And let me tell you, this was a labor of love as it took about three days to make...Here's what I did:

SALTENAS

Stew

4 C chicken stock

4 tbsp collagen powder

2 C chicken, cooked and shredded

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp achote paste

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tbsp oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 C golden raisins

1 C frozen mixed veggies

Dough

1 C butter

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric powder

3 3/4 C gluten free flour

2 tsp salt

6 tbsp sugar

1 tsp xanthum gum

1 C hot water

Assemble

2 hard boiled eggs, cut in quarters

8 black olives, halved

1 egg white

Combine all the stew ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, and let cool to room temp.
Pour the contents of the stew into a casserole dish (I used an 8x8; it should have been a 9x13), cover, and put in the fridge overnight. It should solidify like jello.
When you're ready to make the saltenas, make the dough:
Combine the butter, paprika, and turmeric in a saucepan to melt and infuse the butter.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, salt, and sugar.
Pour the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture and, using your hands, combine until it becomes a sandy texture (and be careful - it is HOT!)
Add the hot water, and mix until the dough becomes a smooth ball (again, be careful - it is HOT!)
Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
Roll out each portion on a lightly dusted surface, until the dough is about 8 inches round in diameter.
Add a slice of the stew, about 1/2 cup or so, to the center of the dough.
Place a quarter of the hard boiled egg, and two olive slices on top of the stew.
Brush the edges of the dough with the egg white.
Bring the sides of the dough to the middle, and crimp to seal the dough - seal the entire pastry - it should look a bit like a football.
Repeat with the remaining dough and filling (I had a ton of filling left over...)
Freeze on a baking tray for at least 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Line the tray with the frozen saltenas (don't use the tray you froze them on, or they won't cook properly).
Brush the pastries with egg wash, if desired.
Bake for 22 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the seam is blackened.
Let them sit for 3-4 minutes before eating.

(Source: Saltenas and Saltenas)

CUNAPE

1 C tapioca flour

2 C queso fresco, crumbled

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Mix the tapioca flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Add the cheese, and mix until the cheese is covered in flour.
Add the egg to the cheese and flour mixture, and combine.
Add the milk, and combine until the mixture is a dough-like consistency.
Divide the dough into 10 balls.
Place a fingerprint in the bottom of each ball (to help them puff in the oven).
Place fingerprint-side down on a baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes, until they are golden and dry.
Enjoy!

(Source: Cunape)

HELADO DE CANELA (Cinnamon Sorbet)

2 1/2 C water

3/4 C sugar

3 small cinnamon sticks

1 tbsp cold water

1/2 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Boil the 2 1/2 C water with the cinnamon sticks until the water turns color and reduces slightly.
Add the sugar and boil for 5 minutes.
Dissolve the cornstarch in the tablespoon of cold water and add to the sugar water.
Cook for another 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Add the lemon juice, and stir to mix in.
Strain the mixture, and place in the freezer (I put it in a bowl in the freezer).
Before it gets completely frozen, stir the sorbet so it doesn't get too hard.
Continue to stir the mixture every 60-90 minutes, until ready to serve.
Enjoy!

(Source: Helado de Canela)

Like I said, this was a labor of love! Not only did it take days to make, but the wrapping of the saltenas was not my favorite thing to do. Gluten free dough is not the same as regular dough, and doesn't have the elasticity that gluten dough has. So, there were several tears and patches in my saltenas, so they didn't look at all like the picture I was going for. That said, they were actually very good! We only had one casualty (which REALLY surprised me that there was only one!) where the stew leaked out of the pastry. They were very awkward to eat, but we got the hang of it. The dough was very good, and had a sweet flavor, which complemented the stew. It's too bad that this took FOREVER to make, otherwise it would probably go into our rotation, and I could get better at the wrapping part! The Cunapes were good as well. They didn't puff up like they were supposed to, but they tasted really good. We were actually very surprised by the taste of the Helado de Canela. It was actually very tasty! It was very sweet, so I couldn't eat much of it, but the cinnamon/sugar combo was very yummy. All in all, we really enjoyed the cuisine of Bolivia!