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Morocho empanadas: recipe illustration
Snacks & baking

Morocho empanadas

Small golden turnovers made from morocho, a large-grained white corn cooked into a porridge and filled with fresh cheese. Crispy outside and melting inside, they're eaten hot for breakfast or as a snack across the Ecuadorian Sierra.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Pâte

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Nutrition facts

505 kcal per serving

Protein
6.2 g
Carbohydrates
21.2 g
of which sugars
12.2 g
Fat
43.4 g
of which saturated fat
15.4 g
Fiber
1.9 g

Ecomely’s estimate, calculated from the ingredients with the ANSES Ciqual food composition table, excluding sides and seasoning added to taste.

Instructions

  1. The night before, soak the morocho in cold water; drain it and cook it in 1 liter of salted water with a little sugar, over low heat, for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until the grains burst and the porridge is tender.
  2. Drain the grains, roughly blend them with the butter and egg until you get a soft dough that no longer sticks to your fingers.
  3. Let the dough cool, then divide it into 12 balls; flatten each one in your palm into a disc.
  4. Place a little crumbled fresh cheese in the center, fold into a half-moon and seal the edges by pressing with a fork.
  5. Heat the oil to 170 °C in a deep pot and fry the empanadas a few minutes, turning them, until nicely golden.
  6. Drain them on paper towels and serve warm.

Variations and tips

Oven version. Brush them with beaten egg and bake at 200 °C for 20 minutes for a less greasy version.

With what you can find here. Replace the morocho with popcorn corn or large polenta grains cooked long in water.

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Original Ecomely recipe.