E is for Empanadas

Spanish for "to bake in pastry", empanadas are a staple in many South American and Asian kitchens. Often filled with a beef and raisin mixture or a chicken and cheese mixture, empanadas are as unique to the regions they come as the regions are themselves.

When I set out to make these gems, I didn't have any beef on hand and my chicken had already been barbecued earlier in the week, so we opted to make a vegetarian empanada.  Stuffed with black beans, salsa and cheese these are yummy alternative to the meat-based empanadas we're more familiar with.  As a family we try to vegetarian a few times a week anyways, so this was a good choice for us.

Now, as much as I love spending much of my time in the kitchen this is not something I would make in the early morning for the school lunch-box.  It is, however, definitely something I would make a batch of on a Sunday morning and freeze for school lunches.  My boys can easily help with this and love to mix the filling together, place it on the dough and press the pastry together.  Crimping the edges with a fork is also a child friendly task for even the youngest of kitchen helpers.  I might suggest doubling the dough recipe and making an assortment of fillings, all of which could be kept frozen.  While making your morning coffee or tea, remove a few from the freezer, pop them in the oven and your kiddies are off to school with a warm, delicious lunch. 

While making these I was thinking of the many different cultures in the world that make a dish with a stuffed pastry.  Slavic countries have the pierogi, Jamaica has it's patty, Germany boasts a great strudel and Italian's were so brilliant to create the calzone.  I suppose it's only natural South America and Asia have their empanadas, and they're own individual versions at that. 

Don't forget to leave your suggestions for "E" foods in the comments section.  So far I'm really loving each and every suggestion you have all had.  In the meantime, have a lovely weekend friends...we're expecting to spend much of ours under cloudy skies, but that provides an opportunity to finish a really great book so I don't mind to much...

Empanada Dough, adapted from Epicurious.com

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cold butter, diced

1 egg

1/3 icy cold water

1 tbsp white vinegar.

~ Place the flours and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl and stir to combine.

~ Add the butter and mix with the flour mixture until coarse and mealy.

~ In a small mixing bowl combine the egg, water and vinegar.  Add to the flour mixture and stir with a fork.

~ Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead 10-12 times.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 15 minutes.

~ Remove from the plastic wrap and divide into two.  Roll out one piece to 1/4" thickness and using a 3" cookie cutter, cut out circles from the dough.  Set aside to make the filling.

Empanada Filling

1 can black beans, rinsed well

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup grated monterry jack cheese

egg wash:

1 egg

1 tbsp cold water

~ Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl.

~ Place a small amount of the mixture on one of the pieces of the empanada dough.  Top with another piece of dough and press the two pieces together.  Crimp the edges with a fork and place on the baking sheet.

~ Once all of the empanadas are put together, brush the tops with the egg wash.

~ Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

~ Enjoy!

**If you choose to freeze them prior to baking, once the filling has been placed on the dough and it's been folded over and crimped, place the baking sheets on the freezer to flash freeze the empanadas. Once frozen, place in a container and remove from freezer when needed.  Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Comments

[Ginger & Pickle]

YUM! I never think to make these... they would be fantastic in a lunch!

[Colleen/And Baby Makes FIve]

Again, I'm just loving this series. Another recipe to add to my "to try" pile :)

Happy Weekending!

[Jan Scott]

I'm so glad you like it - it's been a blast for me to do!

[Jan Scott]

They are! My seven year old snuck one for breakfast this week and loved it!

[BOATBABY]

Oh do I ever miss home made empanadas! My mom was from Chile and made THE BEST empanadas, but sadly her recipe died with her. I will have to get brave enough to give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!

[Run Lori Run]

Great ideas and great blog! Glad I found you!

[Stoich91]

Tip: Empanda dough (pre-cut into circles and without yucky preservatives) can be found fresh and natural, usually in the vegetable section of any grocery store, but since I live where a lot of Spanish people are, our stores might be the exception. BTW: Empanadas, as you mentioned, are usually filled with seasoned, cooked beef. But empanadas are NEVER baked; always fried. The recipe here, although a lovely creative reindition, are NOT empandas, even vegetarian, because they aren't fried! :-)

[Jan Scott]

The pre-cut empanada dough sounds really interesting...thanks for the tip.
I work with a chef from South America who has told me that while
traditionally fried, empanadas can be baked. It depends on the region that
they come from. We don't fry foods at home so the baked version was what
worked for us.

[Stoich91]

To MBM- I apologize completely! :-) Thanks for bringing that up. I should have said “I have NEVER seen a baked empanada". Thank you for the recipe and lesson! :-) All I was saying is that while there are definitely much healthier baked, without meat and being fried, it’s kind of the same as a burrito, if you see what I mean. :-) And yes, the pre-made empanada dough is wonderful!