Tucumana Bolivian
“A deep-fried, crescent-shaped pastry stuffed with seasoned meat, potato, egg and peas, eaten on the street with a battery of squeeze-bottle sauces.”
Where it comes from
The tucumana is the fried cousin of the baked salteña, named for migrants and influences from Tucuman in neighboring Argentina. In Bolivia it became its own street-food institution, especially in La Paz and Cochabamba, where vendors line up bottles of peanut, chili and herb sauces for customers to drown their pastry.
On the plate
The shell shatters into crisp, blistered flakes giving way to a juicy, savory meat-and-potato filling. Layered with the vendor's sauces it turns tangy, nutty and fiery all at once. It is the quintessential greasy, satisfying Bolivian street bite.
How it works
Deep frying flash-cooks the thin dough into a crisp, air-pocketed shell while sealing in the moisture of the pre-cooked filling, creating the signature contrast of shatter-crisp exterior and juicy interior.
Variations
chicken filling, beef filling, spicy version, with extra hard-boiled egg
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓30 min active · 30 min waiting
How it's made
8 steps · Show ↓- 140 min
Make a dough with flour, fat, salt and warm water; rest it.
- 220 min
Cook diced meat with onion, potato, peas and spices into a thick filling.
- 38 min
Mix in chopped hard-boiled egg and let the filling cool.
- 410 min
Roll the dough thin and cut into rounds.
- 515 min
Place filling on each round, fold and crimp the edges shut.
- 68 min
Heat oil to frying temperature in a deep pot.
- 712 min
Deep-fry the pastries until puffed and golden brown.
- 82 min
Drain and serve hot with peanut, chili and herb squeeze sauces.
