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1
Cook the jigote stew
30 mins
Medium heat, about 180°C (350°F) pan surface
Heat 30 ml vegetable oil in a large pan and soften 150 g diced onion for 5 minutes. Add 350 g diced beef chuck and brown it for 6–8 minutes, then stir in 40 g ají amarillo paste, 3 g cumin, 2 g oregano, 2 g pepper and 4 g salt. Add 250 g diced potato, 80 g peas, 15 g sugar and 250 ml beef stock, bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook 15 minutes until the potato is tender and the beef is cooked through — the beef must reach 71°C (160°F). The stew should be wet and saucy, like a soup, not dry.
Keep the stew saucy on purpose — that liquid is the juice you will sip later. If it looks dry, add a splash more stock.
Done when: Potato tender, beef cooked through with no pink, stew loose and brothy.
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2
Set the filling with gelatin
10 mins, then chill 4 hours
Room temperature, then chilled to 4°C (39°F)
Take the pan off the heat. Bloom 20 g gelatin in 60 ml of the cold stock for 5 minutes, then stir it into the hot stew until fully dissolved. Fold in 40 g raisins. Tip the stew into a shallow dish and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight, until it is completely firm like a set jelly. This is what lets you wrap a soupy stew in pastry without a single leak.
If the stew is still wobbly after 4 hours, give it longer — a soft filling will burst in the oven. Overnight in the fridge is the safest plan.
Done when: Firm, sliceable jelly that holds its shape on a spoon.
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3
Make the sweet golden dough
20 mins, plus 30 mins rest
Room temperature
Mix 400 g flour, 30 g sugar, 6 g salt and 5 g paprika in a large bowl. Add 1 egg yolk, 80 g warm melted lard and 180 ml warm water and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and soft. Cover and rest 30 minutes at room temperature — this relaxes the dough so it rolls out thin without springing back.
The dough should feel soft and slightly tacky, like an earlobe; if it is stiff, knead in a teaspoon of water at a time.
Done when: Smooth, soft dough that does not stick to your hands.
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4
Fill and braid the salteñas
30 mins
Room temperature
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a 16 cm disc, slightly thicker in the centre. Place about 3 heaped tablespoons of the cold, set jigote in the middle of each disc, add a slice of hard-boiled egg and half a black olive, then fold the dough over into a teardrop shape and pinch the seam closed along the TOP with the classic repulgue: fold and pinch the edge over itself in a rope braid. The braid on top — not the side — is the salteña's signature, and it lets the pastry stand upright.
Work fast and keep the filling cold; warm jigote softens the dough and the seal will fail. If a seal opens, pinch it again and chill the salteña before baking.
Done when: Eight plump teardrops standing on their base, each with a tight rope braid across the top.
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5
Bake upright until deep gold
25 mins
200°C (400°F)
Stand the salteñas upright on a lined baking tray, braid on top, brush with the beaten egg wash and bake in the centre of the oven for 22–25 minutes until deep golden brown. As they bake the gelatin melts back into hot broth inside the pastry. Rest 5 minutes before serving — the juices inside are scalding.
Stand them close together so they support each other upright; a fallen salteña leaks its broth onto the tray.
Done when: Deep gold, crisp crusts; the filling inside is steaming hot, at least 74°C (165°F).
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve warm, two per person, standing upright on the plate. Bite a small corner off the top first, then sip and spoon out the hot, sweet-spicy broth before eating the rest — that is how Bolivians eat them, and the broth is the whole point.
Bolivia
1h 5m
Italy
Thailand