Easy Mexican empanadas made from scratch

To some, home cookingmeans anythingcookedat home. Yet it'smore about the style of cooking, the type of recipes, or even the fond memories associated with a certain meal.

For chef Mariel Montero, owner of Huma Mexican Comfort, home cooking is synonymous with the food she cooks at the restaurant; which keeps her so busy, she rarely even cooks at home.

"Honestly, I don't have any[ingredients]at home. I never cook at homeand even when I cook for friends and family, I pre-cook at the restaurant and finish it at home."

Aftertraining as a chef in Mexico for fiveyears, Monterotravelledthe globe, cooking and learning along the way. Despite the professional experiences, she credits her infectious passion for Mexican cooking to her grandma.

"Grandma taught me a lot of thingsand actually a lot of the recipes at Huma are coming from her. Most of the homey feeling for my restaurant is from all those family weekends when Grandma and myself would prep all this food for everybody."

Family and Mexican comfort sumup perfectly her philosophy on food.

That's evidenteven in the name of the restaurant. Huma is a combination of the first twoletters of her husband's name, Humberto (Beto), and her own.

Easy empanadas del mar

6 years ago

Duration 4:19

Chef Mariel Montero of Huma Mexican Comfort shows us how to make one of her most popular menu items, empanadas del mar.

One of chef Montero'sfavouriterecipes fromher grandma is empanadas del mar, a corn dough filled with shrimp and cheese, and fried until golden.

Though every region of Mexico will have its own version of empanadas, incorporating the sea and the Mexican staple of corn in the form of masafeels like home to her.

"Grandma was always hosting parties at her house, so for sure the first help around was always me," saidMontero,recalling warm memories of cooking for family.

Though the recipe is quite simple, there are a few tips to help ensure success.

First, be sure to saut the onions until soft and cook the entire filling until the excess moisture is evaporated. A too-wet filling leads to a soggy empanada.

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Also, after mixing the dough, remember to cover it with a moist towel to prevent it from drying out too quickly, though if it does dry out, it's easily fixable. Just sprinkle more water on it and remix.

Finally, when frying your assembled empanadas, fry only twoor threeat a time. Overcrowding the fryer will drop the temperature of the oil and make for greasy empanadas.

Montero's love for cooking iseasy to see andaccording to herthat love shouldn't be a surprise.

"Growing up in Mexico is all about food. I think we talk and think about food 24/7.

"My husband and I started dating after he asked me about food, so I guess it was meant to be."

Empanadas Del Mar

Shrimp stuffing for empanadas

• 25 pieces of shrimp cut in to 3/8 inch (tails removed)
• 1 cupdiced tomato
• cupdiced onion
• tablespoon garlic puree
• 1 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoonsadobo sauce
• 1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt to taste

Preparation

Dough for empanadas

• 400 grams Maseca (corn flour)
• litre warm water, plus more if needed
• tablespoon salt
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil

Preparation

*Each cup of mixture will be enough to fill 4 empanadas.
*This recipe yields 3 cups = 12 empanadas.