Torta Happy!

   

If you are Spanish-literate at all, you may or may not be aware of the fact that there are two meanings for the word torta. In Mexico, it is a sandwich. In Argentina, it is a cake.
     In Brazilian Portuguese, it is nothing close to either of these; it is a breaded pie. By breaded pie I mean something along the lines of what you know as a "pot pie" in the states, only the breading is something rather simple thrown together in a blender. It is categorized in a group of food items known as "salgados". This translates into "salties" more or less in english. Salgados are more known as being small baked or fried foods that are served in between meals as a snack, and Brazil thrives off of them. They are a solid part of Brazilian culture. Salgados are often found served by street vendors, at farmer's markets, and in any bakery or deli. Most of the time you can find people eating salgados for breakfast or in between breakfast and lunch. They're also eaten from street vendors at night as a nice little night time snack. Tortas are usually served at delis and bakeries. They're really filling, so a lof of people will actually just have a slice for lunch. Generally people eat tortas with ketchup, mustard, mayo, or hot sauce. Or all of the above. There are several different kinds of tortas, but the most popular tortas are made with either beef (shredded or ground), chicken, sardines, or cheese. My favorites are both chicken and beef, but my boys love beef the most so I am constantly making beef. And this is what I will be showing you how to make.

What you will need:

• Frying Pan for beef.
• large deep dish pie pan or medium to large deep rectangular pan
• spoon, fork, knife, serving utensils
• large mixing bowl
• blender
  Filling
• 1 lb. or 1/2 kilo of ground beef
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6-8 slices mozzarella cheese-- or whatever cheese covering you prefer (traditionally here either mozzarella or catupiry is used)
• -optional- diced onions, chopped green onions, olives, corn, diced tomatoes (really anything you like inside of cooked ground beef. I generally utilize whatever I have handy in the fridge at the moment.)
  Breading
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 whipped egg white (for topping finished raw pie with)
• -optional- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese and/or 1/4 cup mayonnaise

Ok, here we go:

1. Put the raw ground beef into frying pan with the 4 tbsp. of oil and start cooking on medium to high heat.

2. Add all of your additions that you want for your ground beef along with minced garlic, salt, and pepper to your liking. For this instance I used shredded carrots, and green olives. 

3. Stir it all together and leave the meat to brown. While that is cooking, start your breading. Keep an eye on your meat as it is cooking. When it has completely browned, turn off the oven. The ground beef should not have much juice or moisture left in it. If it does, it's not done.

4. First put the milk, eggs, and oil into the blender on medium to high speed and leave to blend for a good 3 or 4 minutes. Don't turn it off yet. If you are adding parmesan cheese or mayo, add that now.

5. With the blender still going, slowly add your 1 1/2 cups of flour until you have used it all up, then add your baking powder and salt. Blend until it's all combined and stop.

6. If throughout the blending process the dough starts to get too stiff or hard to blend, add a little milk. 

7. Preheat oven to about 190 C or 375 F.

8. Take your deep dish or large rectangular baking pan and coat with margarine or butter. Coat that with flour.

9. First pour half of the contents in the blender into the baking dish. 

10. Next, layer on the cooked ground beef mix.

11. After that, spread mozzarella cheese over beef.

12. Top that with the leftover dough mix from blender. Smooth over with a spoon.

Note the small face resting on the counter, watching my every move. He's in training!

13. Separate the egg white from an egg and whip the egg white up until frothy. 

Top the torta with the egg white and gently spread it over the top.

14. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbly looking.

15. Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. 

16. ENJOY!

This is super yummy with ketchup and mustard (I think it tastes like a cheeseburger pie). It is also good with flavored mayo or hot sauce. I loooove mine with hot sauce! It's also super filling so it's a great meal idea for a family of 4-6 with a side salad or something like that.