Ripe Plantain empanada is one of the most delicious things you will ever eat. The sweet taste of the plantain contrasts perfectly with the salty taste of the filling. It has a caramelised crust with a soft delicate inside. It is indeed amazing.

Plantain empanada can be used as a complete meal or as a snack depending on the filling and what it is served with and is surely worth every effort you put into making it.

The filling is as varied as those for wheat flour empanada. I like to use refried beans, beans and corn porridge (adalu), gizdodo etc. You can come up with so many other suitable and awesome fillings too, just think of ingredients that go with fried plantains, even your regular Nigerian meat pie filling will do.

Though just ripe plantains are used, you can still use those overripe plantains that you are about to throw away, the dough will be sweeter and more delicate to handle. I have shown how here. In another post, I will show how to use unripe plantains to make plantain empanadas.

To make ripe plantain empanada

Dough
500g plantain
Water
salt

Filling
Gizdodo (Gizzard and fried plantain)
Nigerian Refried beans
Adalu (Beans and corn porridge)
Minced beef empanada filling
Nigerian egg stew 
Mackerel sauce
Beef liver sauce
Nigerian smoked fish sauce
Chopped up egg muffins

Wash and cut plantains into 3 pieces.

Place in a pot with enough water to cover them.

Add salt and place over medium-high heat.

Boil until plantain is cooked and soft (not mushy ), about 10 minutes.

Drain and peel off the skin.

plantain in a pot for ripe plantain empanada — Raw plantain

boiled plantain for ripe plantain empanada — Boiled (over-ripe) plantain

boiled plantains in a sieve for ripe plantain empanada — plantain drained into a sieve

Slice through the middle and remove the string of tiny seeds, this is an optional step.

Using a potato masher or fork, mash plantain into a smooth pulp adding a little salt while mashing.

peeled plantains for ripe plantain empanada — Boiled ripe plantains

mashed plantain for ripe plantain empanada — Mashed boiled ripe plantain

mashed over-ripe plantain — Mashed boiled over- ripe plantain

To mould Ripe Plantain Empanada

Method 1

Dampen your palm with a little water, cut off a small lump of plantain dough, about 2 rounded tablespoons full of the dough and press into a flat circle on your palm.

Place a tablespoon or less of the filling, gather the sides over the filling and pinch to close.

Roll gently in your palm to seal and flatten it slightly. Set aside on a plate.

moulding of ripe plantain empanada — Ripe plantain

molding ripe plantain empanada — over-ripe plantain

Method 2

Layout a large piece of wax paper (see note) on a flat surface.

Cut off a small lump of plantain dough, about 2 rounded tablespoons full of the dough.

Place the lump of plantain dough on one-half of the wax paper.

Fold over the other half of the paper to cover the dough.

Using a rolling pin or bottle, gently roll the dough out or use a flat plate to flatten dough.

ripe plantain empanada dough — Lump of plantain dough

Peel the paper back and put in your filling.

ripe plantain empanada — Gizdodo filling

Gently lift paper with dough and cover the filling.

Open the top paper cover and using a damp finger press the edges to close.

Use the tip of a fork to press and seal the edges, trim edges to look neat.

Remove and set aside.

To fry Ripe Plantain Empanada

Place a frying pan over medium-high heat, add enough oil for frying.

When hot, place filled empanadas in the oil, being careful not to overcrowd the oil. If the empanada sticks to the bottom of the pan, gently nudge it to release it.

Flip to fry the other side.

Drain on paper towels and serve.

Serve with a dipping sauce e.g Nigerian tomato stew, pepper sauce etc.

Note

The pie filling should not be watery, to avoid it seeping out of the plantain dough.
Be careful when filling ripe plantain empanada dough with gizdodo, the gizzard can easily pierce the delicate plantain dough. If it does, patch it with a bit of the dough, then dip a finger in water and rub the edges to blend it.
In place of wax paper, you can use parchment paper, glossy calendar/magazine or brown paper.
Seal your empanadas well to avoid their busting open when fried.
If the overripe plantain is too difficult to handle, add a little plantain flour or all-purpose flour to it.
Do not overcrowd the oil when frying empanadas.
The oil should be hot enough to quickly fry and caramelise the plantain dough. The plantain has been cooked so there is no fear of the empanada crust being raw inside.
Do not stack your fried empanadas when they are still hot, otherwise, the steam will make their crust soft and stick together.
You can add peanut butter to the dough for a different flavour.
When serving with a dipping sauce, always put into consideration the nature of the filling so that both of them will complement each other.

If you enjoyed my Ripe Plantain Empanada, you will also enjoy my Beef Empanada, Nigerian fish pie, Vegetable Pie, Coxinha (Brazillian chicken fritters), Jamaican beef patty and Nigerian Cornish Pasty. Do you have any comments, questions or suggestions, please leave a comment below.