- Elisa D.
- Friday, May 28, 2021
Bring the rich flavors of our community to life in your kitchen! Try our Stuffed Honduran Pastelitos—inspired by a recipe from one of our ¡Que Rico!: Community Cookbook contributors, Karin Cantarero.
With its effervescent restaurants, breweries, farm to table partnerships, vegan eateries, the Decker Boulevard International Corridor, Soda City Market and an influx of new residents both domestic and international, Richland County is deservedly becoming more and more renowned as a culinary hotspot.
As Columbia becomes more diverse, so will its offerings in markets and eateries, as well as its evolving history. However, missing a stake in Richland County’s landscape are many countries’ cuisines and their delicacies—a heritage fortunately kept alive by the county’s culturally eclectic residents.
And while you won’t easily find dishes like Stuffed Honduran Pastelitos at local restaurants, these recipes and family traditions help make up the wonderful flavor of our complex and unique community.
Stuffed Honduran "Pastelitos"
INGREDIENTS:
For the chicken:
• 1 chicken breast, whole
• 1 medium white potato, cubed
• ¼ cup mixed, fresh or
frozen vegetables
• 1 cup Cilantro, chopped
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 1 tbsp Achiote
• ½ medium onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
For the dough:
• 2 cups Maseca or
pre-cooked cornmeal flour
• 1 tbsp Achiote
• 2 cups chicken broth
(reserved from mixture above)
• ½ tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• A pinch of black pepper
• 2 ½ cups vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS:
To prepare the chicken:
1. Add raw chicken to medium stockpot, season with salt, pepper and achiote.
2. Add onion, cilantro, vegetables, potato and chicken broth, and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Continue cooking until mixture is smooth, and the chicken is tender enough to shred.
4. Drain mixture into a bowl and set remaining broth aside to cool.
5. Shred chicken and mix thoroughly into vegetables.
To prepare the dough:
1. In a large bowl, mix cornmeal flour, achiote, baking powder, salt and pepper.
2. Add reserved chicken broth slowly until mixture is wet and can be kneaded into a ball.
3. Continue kneading until you achieve a flexible consistency.
4. Continue rolling dough into golf-ball sized balls for the tortillas.
5.Using a tortilla press or rolling pin, flatten the dough ball between two sheets of oiled parchment paper into tortilla shapes.
6. Add vegetable oil to pan and heat on medium/high.
7. Add chicken and vegetable mixture to toritillas and close—taking care not to overflow the mixture.
8. Add pastelitos to hot oil and fry until both sides turn golden brown.
9. Serve immediately.
Find additional recipes from our ¡Que Rico! Community Cookbook, exclusive interviews with local food entrepreneurs and more, here.