Bolivia

Tonight we cooked Bolivian baked stuffed zucchini and Bolivian empanadas with a traditional chimichurri sauce. Everything was delicious! We had way too many empanadas! It did say on the recipe that it made 16 serves but I forgot to look which is a mistake that I will never make again. Also I think the ratio of dough to filling was a little off because i had to make a second batch of dough to be able to use all the filling. This meant that we had about 50 empanadas for four people! We also made half quantity of the baked stuffed zucchinis and still had lots of extra. I also think that you have to make the chimichurri sauce if you're making the empanadas. They are still good without the sauce but they are delicious with the chimichurri (just warning you though it is a little spicy). Also the empanadas were very time consuming.

About Bolivia

Bolivia is a country in south america, bordered by, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. the climate there is different depending where in the country you are. The terrain consists of dry highlands where it can be hot and humid during the day and freezing cold at night, humid jungles and warm lakeside villages.

Bolivia was once a part of the ancient Inca empire. After the Spaniards defeated the Incas in the 16th century, Bolivia's predominantly Indian population was reduced to slavery. Income inequality between the largely impoverished Indians who make up two-thirds of the country and the Europeans remains vast to this day. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries on the continent.

Food and dining etiquette in Bolivia

Dining etiquette in Bolivia follows the European traditions and is practically the same.The traditional staples of Bolivian cuisine are corn, potatoes, and beans. These ingredients have been combined with a number of staples brought by the Spanish, such as rice, wheat, and meat, including beef, pork, and chicken.

8 1/2 out of 10 stars

Baked Stuffed Zucchini

The Ingredients

10 baby zucchinis 10 eggs 1/4 pound of grated parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped 6-8 cloves of garlic 10 black or green olives, pitted and cut in half lengthwise 2 beef bullion cubes, small 10 tablespoons of olive oil 1/2 cup of bread crumbs Salt and pepper to taste

The Method

Place the zucchinis whole in a large pot of water that covers them completely and boil them for 8-10 minutes. Drain the water, allow them to cool. While you wait, fry the whole garlic cloves in a pot with 1 teaspoon of oil until they are toasted. Cut the tips off of each end of each zucchini and then cut each zucchini in half lengthwise (they'll look like little boats) and with a teaspoon scoop out the tender part of the pulp and seeds. Place the pulp into the pot with the garlic and oil and add in the 2 beef bullion cubes. Cook thoroughly, stirring constantly, mashing the bullion cubes and garlic once they are soft. Beat or blend the eggs and add them into the mixture. Cook fully and mix completely. Place the zucchini halves on a greased cookie sheet and refill each zucchini with the cooked mixture. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese to taste. Place one olive half on top of each zucchini and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese turns a golden toasted color. Serve hot. Makes 20 zucchini halves.

Bolivian Empanadas

Ingredients

Serves 16

Filling:

2 large russet potatoes

1 large carrot

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 big red onion cut it in small squares

1/2 lb short cut steak chopped into small squares

1/2 red pepper cut in thin small slices

2 tbsp parsley

1 tbsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

2 tbsp canola oil

4 hard boiled eggs

Kalamata olives without seed (optional)

2 cups canola oil

Dough:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup hot water (not boiling)

Method:

Filling:

Peel and cut the potatoes and carrot into small squares. The carrots, peas and potatoes should all be the same size. Put them in a pot with water and salt. After it boils for 2 min take them out and drain them. We don’t want to overcook the carrots or potatoes, they need to be firm. Set aside.

Peel and dice the onion in small squares. Clean the extra fat or nerve cells from the meat and cut it in small square pieces. It is very important to cut the meat by hand (cannot use ground beef), it keep the juices better when cooked.

Cut 1/2 of the red pepper in small thin strips.

Cook the onion in 2 tbsp of oil for about 3 min or until onions are clear add the meat and pepper and cook for 3 min, add the parsley, cumin and oregano. Mix. Add the salt, sugar and cayenne pepper and cook until meat is tender for about 5 min, we don’t want it to be dried. Let it cool and set aside.

Mix the potatoes, carrots, peas and meat mix in a large bowl. Cover and reserve while we do the dough.

Hard boil the eggs. Peel and cut them in four pieces.

Dough

In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the hot water and mix with a spoon. Add the oil and mix with your hands until you have a easily manageable dough. The dough doesn’t have to be sticky, don’t over-kneed the dough. Cover with seran wrap and let it sit for 15 min.

Cut the dough in half and keep the other half covered. Cut the half in 8 pieces.

Roll each piece one at the time until they are slightly larger the size of your hand, not too thin.

Heat 2 cups of canola oil

Prepare one empanada at the time.

Put the dough in your hand add one slice of egg and 3 tbsp of the meat mix. Carefully close the two endings of the dough with your hand, making sure the filling doensn’t come out.

Cook in the hot oil until brown or golden color. Put it to on top of paper towel.

Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling. These tucumanas should ideally be eaten the same day, but they can be refrigerated and reheated at 160 for 10 mins.

Quick Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients

1 ½ cups fresh parsley leaves

6 basil leaves

Leaves from 3 oregano sprigs, add more if you're an oregano fan

4 garlic cloves, whole or crushed

3 tbs vinegar, can use white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

6 tbs of oil

1-2 tsp chili powder or red chili flakes, more or less based on your preference

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Combine all of the ingredients in the blender (or mini food processor), mix until you have a smooth sauce. For a more rustic chimichurri, blend all the ingredients except the oil and then stir it in at the end.

Taste and adjust salt/pepper or chili powder as needed. You can also adjust the amount of vinegar based on the acidity level that you prefer.

Refrigerate until ready to use (but should be used the same day).