Hello, everyone! I recently discovered that in Poland you can find a cheese very similar to the one we eat in Venezuela or Colombia. It's called Halloumi cheese, or Ser Halloumi in Polish, and it's sold at the Biedronka supermarket (see photo below). I had been craving potato and cheese pastries, or maracuchos, for a few days, I decided to buy one to make them. I'm so happy because they turned out delicious, and for a moment I felt like I was in Venezuela eating pastries with my sister and my friend Gelmary (since we always made them together). So now I'm here to share the recipe with you because I'm sure you're going to love it.

Preparación // Preparation
Para empezar ponemos a cocinar algunas papas en agua hasta que estén blandas (la cantidad de papas depende del número de pastelitos) y mientras se cocinan vamos a preparar la masa, para eso derretimos 50 gramos de mantequilla y una vez esta esté fría la vamos a agregar en una olla con 300 gramos de harina de trigo, 150 ml de agua, 1 cucharada de azúcar y una cucharadita de sal, seguidamente amasamos hasta obtener una masa suave y homogénea y dejamos reposar por 30 minutos con un poco de harina y tapada con un trapo limpio.
To begin, boil some potatoes in water until they are soft (the amount of potatoes depends on the number of pastries). While they are cooking, prepare the dough by melting 50 grams of butter. Once it has cooled, add it to a pot with 300 grams of wheat flour, 150 ml of water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Knead until you have a smooth, even dough, then let it rest for 30 minutes with a little flour and covered with a clean cloth.





Cuando las papas estén blandas, las ponemos en una taza para convertirlas en puré, luego les agregamos nuestro queso rallado, un poco de leche tibia y un poquito de sal (solo un poco ya que este queso ya es bastante salado), revolvemos bien y reservamos.
When the potatoes are soft, place them in a bowl to mash them, then add the grated cheese, a little warm milk, and a pinch of salt (just a little, as this cheese is already quite salty). Stir well and set aside.


Pasados los 30 minutos de reservar nuestra masa, la sacamos y procedemos a estirarla lo suficiente con la ayuda de un rodillo y luego con un vaso o un molde redondo comenzamos a hacer los circulos de los pastelitos, después tomamos un circulo, le ponemos relleno suficiente, encima otro circulo y finalmente sellamos con la ayuda de un tenedor y así sucesivamente hasta terminar la masa. Recuerden poner harina abajo de los pasteles listos para que estos no se peguen.
After letting the dough rest for 30 minutes, take it out and roll it out with a rolling pin until it is thin enough. Then, using a glass or round mold, cut out circles for the pastries. Take one circle, add enough filling, place another circle on top, and seal the edges with a fork. Repeat until all the dough is used up. Remember to place flour underneath the finished pastries so they don't stick.





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Llegó el momento de freir los pastelitos para eso ponemos a calentar el aceite a fuego alto, y cuando ya esté bien caliente lo ponemos a fuego bajo para echar a freir los pastelitos, los sacamos cuando ya estén dorados y listos para disfrutar. De verdad quedaron muy buenos, a mi esposo Pawel le encantaron ya que él no los había probado antes y para acompañarlos decidí preparar una salsa con mayonesa, ajo, cilantro, leche líquida y sal y ufff estaba para chuparse los dedos pero veanlo ustedes mismos en las fotos.
It's time to fry the pastries, so we heat the oil over high heat, and when it's hot, we reduce the heat to low to fry the pastries. We remove them when they are golden brown and ready to enjoy. They turned out really well. My husband Pawel loved them, as he had never tried them before. To accompany them, I decided to make a sauce with mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro, milk, and salt, and wow, it was finger-licking good, but see for yourselves in the photos.







Imagen de portada hecha por mí en Canva // Cover image made by me in Canva
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