Bollos Pelones

Bollos Pelones

Bollos Pelones

Bollos pelones are a great example of Venezuelan home cooking. The dumplings consists of corn flour dough balls filled with seasoned ground beef. They’re boiled, then covered with a tomato sauce. They remind me if you crossed a tamale and a matzah ball. These meat dumplings can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner as an appetizer or as your main course.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Venezuelan
Keyword: appetizer, Beef, Latin American, main course, Venezuelan
Author: Alex Gorgos

Equipment

  • immersion blender

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1 1/4 cup masa harina
  • 2 tbsp butter melted
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Filling

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium white onion finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 roma tomatoes finely chopped
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Heat up the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown the ground beef. Season with oregano, salt and pepper. Set aside.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Heat up olive oil in a small pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Addin the tomatoes. Season with salt. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Using an immersion blender, purée the sauce. Set aside.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Mix together all of the dough ingredients.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Form into a dozen balls.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Make a hole in the center of the ball with your thumb. Fill it with 3 tbsp of the filling.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Close up and re-roll the balls.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Drop in the balls.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
  • Boil for 10 minutes. The balls are ready when they float to the surface. Drain the balls. Hehe.
    Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
Top the dumplings with the sauce.
Venezuelan, appetizer, main course, beef
Crumble over a little cotija cheese.