Recipe: Empanaditas de Yuca - Dear Carolina: I think it was last year that you were looking for

a recipe for EMPANADITAS because they are favorites of Luis. I finally found the recipe, I hope you will see this message soon dear friend.

Empanaditas de Yuca
(Cassava salty pasties)
This is a variation of empanaditas but using cassava (yuca) instead of flour.
Serve: 8 people

1/4 lb. of ground beef
2 cups of oil
2 leaves of basil chopped finely
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/4 cup of raisins
1 teaspoon of salt
1 small red onion
1 green pepper
Black ground pepper.
1 lb. of cassava (yuca)
1 garlic clove (peeled)

Chop the onion into small cubes of about 1/2 cm. Cut the pepper and get rid of the seeds. Chop the peppers into small cubes about the same size as the onions. Put the ground beef in a bowl, mix the pepper and the onion, add a pinch of oregano, a pinch of pepper and a teaspoon of salt. In a shallow pan heat a tablespoon of oil. Add the ground beef and stir so it cooks uniformly. Add two tablespoons of water and the tomato paste. Let simmer at medium heat. Adjust water when necessary. When the meat is ready let all the liquid evaporate, adjust salt to taste. Turn off the heat and reserve. Boil the cassava until it is tender adding the garlic and salt to taste to the water. Make sure that it still stays firm. Mash the cassava and let cool down to room temperature. Knead the mashed cassava, separate them into balls of 2 tablespoons of the mixture each. On a lightly oiled surface flatten the balls with your hands until they form thin disks. Put a teaspoon of the chicken in the center, double over in a semi-circle and seal the border pressing it with a fork. Deep fry the pasties in very hot oil and put on a paper towel for a minute before serving.