tanta chicago – In Good Taste

How To: Make Perfect Empanadas

Maris Callahan — Fri, 31 Oct 2014 05:00:23 +0000

When you’re pressed for time, cooking meals that can be frozen for later is practically a necessity. Instead of resigning yourself to reheated casserole and a freezer full of soup, look to perfect empanadas, a Latin American style street food, for quick weeknight meals or easy appetizers to serve to guests anytime. The key to making delicious empanadas is making delicious filling. Empanadas, which are made by folding dough or bread around a variety of meat, cheese, vegetables or fruits, are quite simple to concoct in your home kitchen. However, no one does empanadas quite like the chefs at Tanta in Chicago, under the helm of Gastón Acurio and Jesús Delgado. According to Delgado, the key to making the perfect empanada is to prepare them the day before you plan on serving them, freeze them, and then fry them while they are still frozen. Save Print How To: Make Perfect Empanadas Author: Chef Gastón Acurio Recipe type: Cooking for a Crowd, Small Plates & Snacks Prep time: 1 hour Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 2 hours Serves: 8 Ingredients 10 ounces of diced beef tenderloin ½ cup chopped onions 2 tablespoons chopped garlic 3 teaspoons panca chili paste (red chili pepper paste) 1 tablespoon […]

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Chicago: Street Food Feast Platter at Tanta

Rachel Dickens — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 05:00:13 +0000

Remember those 2 a.m. nights during college when you knew you wanted something to eat, but you couldn’t decide for the life of you whether to order pizza, Chinese, a sandwich or all three?Well, apparently Gastón Acurio understands that dilemma better than most. At his newest hotspot, Tanta, you’ll find an expansive menu with some of the city’s most flavorful and comforting new dishes (looking at you, Chaufa Aeropuerto). But out of everything I tried during my recent dinner at the River-North restaurant, I had the most fun with the aptly named Street Food Feast. Why? Simple, I got to try a little bit of everything. Also, it was all fried. True to form, the feast comes on a massive platter with four decadent menu items: empanadas (so savory and flaky that I nearly asked for extras); antichuchos, or beef skewers dressed in chimichurri, corn and huacatay; Peruvian potatoes with creamy huancaina sauce; and my personal favorite, Pan con Chicharron. These were similar to pork-belly sliders, but I’m convinced they’re a creation that exists solely to ruin all other types of food for me and anyone else who eats them. All four selections come in twos, which is the best […]

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