Costa Rica
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In Spanish Costa Rica means “rich coast”
It is the only Latin American country to
have been a democracy since 1950 or
earlier
Costa Rica has consistently been among
the top Latin American countries in the Human development Index
One of the countries that have attained much higher human development than other
countries at the same income levels
The country is ranked fifth in the world, and first among the Americas, in terms of the
2012 Environmental Performance Index
Gallo Pinto Empanadas
Empanada Dough Directions
1. In a medium-sized bowl mix 3 cups of AllPurpose flour and 1 tablespoon of salt.
2. Cut 1/2 cup room temperature solid
vegetable shortening into pieces and place in
bowl with flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter,
cut in shortening until you have a cornmeal
texture. If needed break up large pieces with
your hands.
3. Slowly incorporate 3/4 cup of luke-warm water, adding a little at at time until a dough ball forms.
The dough should not be sticky and should be kneaded about 10 times.
If needed, add more flour or water to reach the appropriate consistency.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour. If you’re making the dough in advance, wrap with
plastic wrap and refrigerate. However, bring dough to room temperature before assembling
empanadas.
Filling Ingredients
◾1 Cup Dried black beans
◾1 Bay leaf
◾1 medium Yellow onion
◾4 Garlic Cloves
◾3 Cups Water
◾1 teaspoon salt
◾1 cup Brown or White rice
◾1/2 Red bell pepper
◾1 Green onion
◾1/8 Cup Fresh choppded cilantro
◾2 Whole Eggs
◾2 Tbsp Unsalted butter
Filling Directions
1.Soak beans in a bowl of water overnight and then drain.
2.Finely chop the onion. In a slow-cooker, place black beans and three cups of water, the bay leaf,
half of the chopped onion and cook on high for 3-4 hours.
3.Strain off excess juices and remove bay leaf.
4.Bring two cups of water to a rapid boil and pour in rice. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and let
cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes until rice is fully cooked.
5.In a large fry pan, melt butter and saute remaining onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook until onion
is translucent, add green onion, then pour in rice and beans and mix until incorporated.
6. In a separate pan, scramble egg with milk until fully cooked. Add egg to rice and bean mixture.
7. Finally, chop cilantro and add to the mixture. Allow to cool.
Empanada Assembly
1. Thoroughly clean the work surface and give yourself plenty of room.
You’ll need flour, a rolling pin, a circular cutter (6-8”), spoon, water, cookie sheet and your filling.
Sprinkle flour on the work surface and pull a piece of dough off that’s about the size of a lime.
2. Begin to flatten the dough ball in all directions until the dough is roughly 2 millimeters thick. The
dough shouldn’t stretch much further than the diameter of your cutter, or you might have used too
much dough.
3. Press the cutter through the dough completely. Remove excess dough and incorporate it into the
next dough ball. It’s important to note that once the dough has been rolled and stretched, it is much
harder to do it a second time, so using the least amount of dough per cut is ideal.
4. Once you’ve rolled out the dough and cut out the circle, it shouldn’t shrink any. Moisten the
edges by dipping your fingers into egg wash and gently spreading a thin layer around the edges.
5. Spoon out 2-3 tablespoons of filling onto the upper half of the circle. Fold the bottom half of the
dough up over the filling and press the edges together repositioning the filling inside if needed. It’s
important to have the right amount of filling so it won’t break open or leave it hollow after cooking.
You should fill it just enough to still get the empanada to close.
6. There are many ways to close and shape empanadas but I prefer the pinch and twisting closure.
Starting with one edge pinch the edge between your finger and then fold the corner up over itself by
2 cm and pinch the new fold to seal it. Repeat the motion all the way around the empanada by
pinching and twisting the dough to create a rope-like edge. When you reach the other edge simply
tuck the corner under and pinch closed to seal it off.
7.To cook them, heat up some vegetable oil, coconut oil, palm oil or peanut oil in a medium-sized
pot to a medium-high temperature. Be sure to test your oil before dropping in the empanadas, if
you drop in a little piece of extra dough, it should boil easily but not crackle, pop or boil too rapidly.
If this happens, reduce the heat of the oil before submerging the empanada. When the oil is ready,
submerge two or three empanadas in the oil and allow them to cook for 4-6 minutes until golden
brown. Watch them carefully so they don’t burn
Sources
http://www.cheapfoodhere.com/cheap-recipes/the-5-best-costa-rican-recipes
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=costa+rica+map&qs=IM&form=QBIR&pq=costa+
rica+m&sc=8-12&sp=1&sk=
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=costa+rica%27s+flag&qs=HS&form=QBIR&pq=co
sta+&sc=8-6&sp=2&sk=HS1
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=map+of+costa+ricca&FORM=HDRSC2