Saffron Empanada with Braised Mojo Pork

STEP 1: BRAISE THE MOJO PORK

Combine the minced garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and sour orange juice in a bowl and whisk. Add the cubed pork, turn to coat, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and up to overnight; this long marinade is what gives the pork its depth, so do not shorten it. Lift the pork out and pat it dry, reserving every drop of the marinade. Heat the olive oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown the pork in batches until deeply coloured on at least two sides, about 4 minutes a batch; a crowded pan will not colour. Set the pork aside, lower the heat to medium, add the sliced onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until soft and lightly golden. Return the pork with the reserved marinade, the bay leaves and the stock. Bring to a bare simmer, cover, and either hold on the lowest burner setting or transfer to a 325F (165C) oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, until the pork shreds under no pressure at all.

STEP 2: REDUCE AND SET THE FILLING

Lift the pork out with a slotted spoon and shred it with two forks, discarding the bay leaves. Return the braising liquid to the pan and boil hard, uncovered, until it reduces to a syrupy glaze - roughly 3/4 cup (180 ml), thick enough to coat a spoon heavily. Combine the glaze with the shredded pork and the softened onion and fold thoroughly; the meat should look glossy and bound, not wet. Taste and correct the salt now. Spread the filling in a shallow tray, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate uncovered for 30 minutes and covered for at least 4 hours or overnight. The test is simple: a spoonful lifted from the cold tray should hold a dome and not weep. Loose, warm filling slumps off the disc during assembly and blows the crimp in the fryer, which is why an underfilled shell is the safe response under time pressure. Cold, glaze-bound filling can be packed properly full and will stay there.

STEP 3: MAKE THE SAFFRON DOUGH

Crush the saffron threads between your fingers and steep them in the warm water for at least 20 minutes, until the liquid is deep amber and smells strongly of saffron; cool to room temperature and measure out 1/3 cup (80 ml) of the infusion, discarding the rest. Whisk the flour and fine sea salt in a large bowl. Add the cold cubed butter and rub it in with your fingertips, or cut it in with a pastry blender, until you have a coarse, uneven crumb with some pieces still the size of small peas - those pieces are the flakiness, so stop before it turns to sand. Beat the egg and vinegar into the measured saffron infusion, then add to the flour in two or three additions, tossing with a fork until it just comes together. Bring it into a ball with as little kneading as you can manage, flatten into two discs, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.

STEP 4: MAKE THE CREAMY CILANTRO SAUCE

Blend the cilantro, sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, garlic, jalapeno and fine sea salt until completely smooth and vividly green, scraping down the sides once or twice. If it is too thick to spoon into a clean comma on the plate, loosen it with a teaspoon of water at a time. Refrigerate. It keeps for 3 days but is greenest on the first, so blend it as close to service as you can.

STEP 5: MAKE THE GARLIC-PAPRIKA AIOLI

Whisk the egg yolk, grated garlic, smoked paprika, lemon juice and fine sea salt in a narrow bowl until smooth. Add the neutral oil drop by drop at first, whisking constantly, until the emulsion takes and thickens, then pour it in a thin, steady stream. Finish with the extra-virgin olive oil, added last and slowly - adding it early makes the aioli bitter. Adjust with lemon and salt. An immersion blender in a tall narrow jar does the same job in 20 seconds. Refrigerate until needed.

STEP 6: ROLL, FILL AND SEAL

Take the filling from the refrigerator and weigh it into 8 portions of 90 g each, shaping each into a compact log. Weighing is the whole point: portioning by eye across a batch is what produces empanadas that run from half full to full. Roll one disc of dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch (3 mm) and cut 6-inch (15 cm) rounds, re-rolling the scraps once. Lay a filling log across the centre of each round, leaving a clean 3/4-inch (2 cm) border. Brush that border with egg wash, fold the pastry over, and press outward from the filling towards the edge to expel trapped air - trapped air, not filling volume, is what usually bursts an empanada. Seal firmly, then crimp with a fork or by hand. Set the finished empanadas on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Do not skip this chill: firm pastry around a fully packed filling is what lets a proper fill survive the fryer.

STEP 7: DRESS THE APPLE-FENNEL SALAD

Shave the fennel as thinly as you can and julienne the apple, leaving the skin on for colour. Toss both immediately with the lemon juice, then the extra-virgin olive oil, honey and kosher salt. Chop a tablespoon or two of the reserved fennel fronds and fold them through. Dress this within 15 minutes of serving - the crunch is a function of how recently the salad was cut and salted.

STEP 8: FRY

Heat 2 inches of neutral oil to 350F (175C). Fry the chilled empanadas 2 or 3 at a time for 3 to 4 minutes a side, until deep golden and blistered. Keep the oil between 340 and 355F: below that the pastry drinks oil, above it the outside colours before the seam sets. Drain on a wire rack rather than paper, or the underside goes soft. Season with a pinch of salt while hot.

STEP 9: PLATE

Spoon the aioli onto the plate and drag it into a wide comma. Add a smaller comma or a few dots of cilantro sauce alongside. Set the empanada across the aioli, cut on the bias if you want the cross-section visible - and with a properly packed shell, you do. Pile the apple-fennel salad beside it, high rather than flat, and finish with a few whole fennel fronds. Serve immediately.