Another Empanada Dough

Here is another recipe for empanada dough.  I used leftover filling that I had frozen from my last batch. You can click here.

For this dough
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup flour tortilla mix or Masa Harina
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening (melted)
3/4 cups water

Mix your dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in your melted vegetable shortening and your water. Mix well. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour. Cut into a dozen wedges, form small balls. Dust a working surface with flour. Roll out your empanada dough. Put a tablespoon or so of your filling in the center, fold over and seal the edges. This dough can be either fried or baked. If baking add an egg wash and bake in the oven at 350 for 25 minutes. If frying, heat vegetable oil in a deep skillet, drop in the empanadas turning them until golden. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

This dough was tasty and turned out more "puffy" than other recipes I have used.

Empanadas de Carne #2

Here I go again, trying another recipe for empanada dough. I searched the internet and finally decided that this recipe would afford me my next adventure, but as usual, I had to make small adjustments. Here are the ingredients I used for the dough... and by the way, the dough turned out really tasty and flaky.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1-2 tsp sugar
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 cup water
1 egg yolk

1 egg for wash

Mix your dry ingredients with the butter and shortening using a pastry cutter or two butter knives, until fairly well blended. Form a well. Whisk the egg yolk with the water, and drop into the center of your flour mixture. Use a fork to first blend it together and then your hands to knead it into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Separate your dough to form about a ten small balls. Sprinkle a work station with flour and roll out the individual balls into a circular shape about the thickness of pie crust. (I left my shape ragged because I was lazy and I knew how to fold them to make them look like they were round, but if you want to make them perfect you can use an empty coffee can to form the circle).  Pour about a tablespoon of your filling in the center and fold the dough over. Pinch and fold the edge together (there are many videos on how to do this, search "how to fold an empanada") or just use a fork to press the edges together. Place your empanadas on  a cookie sheet (I put parchment paper on the sheet) and brush the tops with an egg wash. Bake at 350F until golden brown. (about 25 minutes).*

*Please note that this dough recipe turned out great for baking, but I did not test it for frying, so I cannot give an opinion on what the results would be.

I made a simple meat filling for these:


1 1/4 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tbsp cumin
1 tsp salt
olive oil
1 cup water

Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and Saute your onions, pepper and garlic. Add the browned ground beef, the water and spices and let simmer for about 15 minutes on low heat. Easy, huh?

Empanadas de Manzana

If you want to learn something, teach it! It's immeasurable how much I've learned about ingredients and cooking since I started this blog. By showing you, my readers, what I cook, you have taught me how to become better at it, and have inspired me to investigate and plunge into new areas of cooking.

I have posted several recipes for empanadas this year, each time using a different recipe for the crust.  I felt I had enough confidence to venture off on my own without a recipe at hand and prepare an empanada dough. I managed to make these apple empanadas from scratch using the ingredients I had at hand and my new-found confidence.

For the Dough:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tbsp Crisco shortening
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ice water

In a large bowl mix all your ingredients together using a fork. I know you may think there has to be a certain order to incorporating the ingredients, but that is really not the case, at least not for these. Work the dough as much as possible with the fork before putting your hands in there, gathering it and kneading it to form a large ball. Separate the dough into 2 balls, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour (more time would be better, even the next day).

For the Filling:
4 apples, peeled, cored and cut into small pieces (I had one Granny Smith and 3 Red Delicious)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 squeeze of lemon juice

Mix all these ingredients in a bowl. Chop your apples finely. (Do as I say, not as I did) because large chunks will break through the dough.

To assemble:
1 egg, beaten


Heat oven to 350. Take out the refrigerated dough. Unwrap one ball and separate in half, then in half again and in half again so that you have 8 sections. From these into small bowls. Sprinkle flour a clean surface an roll out each small ball into a circular shape (sort of circular, it won't be exact). Place about 1 tablespoon of your apple filling in the center of your empanada. Fold over, press the sides together, then pinch and fold up as you go. (I'm not very good at this, it requires practice, do the best you can.) or you can press the edges together with a fork. Repeat. You will have a total of 16 empanadas (8 from each orginal ball). At this point you can freeze some for baking at another time.

Place your empanadas on a baking dish and brush on your egg wash. Pinch them on top a couple of with a toothpick.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown.

Meatless Monday: Empanadas de Espinaca con Masa de Yuca: Spinach Empanadas with Yucca Crust

Fried Empanadas

Baked Empanadas

Well I came across this recipe, and I just had to try it. It is a Cuban recipe and it seemed crazy, but it worked out great. It is an empanada dough made with yucca root. Follow me so you can see how it's done.


1 lb yuca
3/4  cup all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp butter or margarine
1 tsp salt

If using fresh yucca, peel, and cut into chunks. I used frozen yucca which is easier to find here. Boil your yucca until tender. Strain and remove hard root center. While still warm pass through a food processor to form a paste. In a large bowl combine your yucca paste with the butter, salt and egg yolk. Using your hands slowly work in the 3/4 cup of flour. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate to cool. (I left it in overnight until I was ready to prepare my empanadas).

Liberally flour a working surface and separate a small ball of dough and place onto your surface. The dough may be sticky, so make sure you have flour to sprinkle on as necessary. Roll out your dough, removing any hard pieces that may be left behind. Use a bowl to form circles on your dough, trace around the bowl with a knife. Place your filling in the center and fold in half. Crimp the edges up with your fingers to seal. You can fry your empanadas in vegetable oil, turning to brown evenly or brush on an egg wash on the tops and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden. (I preferred the baked ones)

These may be filled with whatever you desire ... meat, chicken, cheese, etc. I made a simple spinach filling using chopped onions, garlic, canned spinach and feta cheese.

Sautee your onion and garlic in olive oil and add your drained spinach. Cook on low heat 'til the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If necessary strain your spinach filling to release as much liquid as possible.

Empanada de Pollo Horneada: Baked Chicken Empanada

I remember years ago when we would have some sort of party at the house, my mother would order an empanada from the bakery. These cuban empanadas were pie size, not the fold-over kind that usually pops to mind. These pie-like empanadas were usually meat filled and served in wedges along with bocaditos and other party fare.




Before we start, I would like to thank all of you who gave me recipes for empanada dough the last time I made meat empanadas using Goya discs.  Considering that I am dieting, specifically on a low cholesterol diet, I decided to go with Nathan's empanada dough which requires olive oil and not butter. Please click here.

Following his instructions:
1 cup olive oil
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (optional)
5 cups all purpose flour

In a large pot mix oil, water, salt, and sweet smoked Spanish paprika. Stir and bring to a simmer. When it starts to bubble turn off the burner and add your flour mixing it with a wooden spoon. At this point I removed the dough from the pot and kneaded it with my hands to form a ball, then I returned it to the warm pot and kneaded it further. This dough does not need refrigeration. Actually it is more pliable warm and you do not need to flour a surface to roll it out. Keep it in a ziplock bag while you work a bit of it at a time.

For the pie size empanada, take about a third of the of the dough and place it on a clean working surface, roll it out to the thickness of pie dough. Roll out a size larger than your pie pan, place this on the bottom and add your filling. Repeat for the top and cover. Crimp edges with your fingers. Cut four slits on top and brush with an egg wash.

For smaller fold-over empanadas, take a handful of the dough and place it on a clean working surface, roll it out to the thickness of pie dough. Choose a large round shape (I used an empty shipped cream tub), and cut the pie dough with a knife around it.  Add your filling; don't be skimpy, fold over and crimp the edges with a fork.

Place in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes

There are limitless possibilities for filling the empanadas,  I went with chicken. 

1 lb chicken breast, diced
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 green bell pepper, diced
1 medium sized potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
7-8 pimento stuffed olives, diced
salt / pepper / oregano / dash of cumin / dash of paprika
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 bouillon chicken broth
1 cup water
 olive oil

2 hard boiled eggs, cubed

Sautee your onions, garlic, and pepper in olive oil, add your chicken and spices and cook through. Add your potatoes, carrots and olives, water and bouillon. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Let cool. Spoon in your filling and sprinkle with boiled eggs on top.

Empanadas de Carne

For Sharline:

I'm going to be using frozen Goya discs. I am going to fry the empanadas. I will look into finding a recipe for a good dough that can be fried and made from scratch. If you have one, please leave me a comment. Thanks.

I usually make a Cuban picadillo and use the leftovers for the empanadas, but today I decided to make the filling Argentinian style. (It turned out really good, my husband gave me a thumbs up!)




Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 large yellow onion chopped (I use red, remember the yellow make me cry, so half a large red onion for me)
1/2 cup green olives, finely chopped
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon ground paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
Salt to taste
olive oil
1 cup water
3 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped

vegetable oil for frying

Brown your ground beef and drain. In a skillet sautee your onions in a little olive oil, add your ground beef and all other ingredients except the eggs. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Let cool.

Boil your eggs and chop them. Incorporate them into the ground beef mixture.

Shhh! When I went to grab my raisins, I realized I was all out. That's why there is no picture of the raisins. So I chopped up a couple of prunes instead, and I actually think it tasted better than the raisin. Don't tell my husband! LOL!

Defrost your discs and lay them out on a working surface. Wet the edges of your disc with water (use your fingers).  With a slotted spoon place about 2 of tablespoonsful of your ground beef mixture in the center and fold over. Using a fork press the edges together. (Make sure the side ares sealed, you do not want oil to seep into them when frying).  Repeat this process for all your discs.  At this point you can refrigerate or freeze those that you don't not plan to eat right away.

Heat about an haf an inch of oil in a heavy skillet and place your discs one or two at a time (depending on the size of your pan) into the hot oil. Watch the heat, turn it down if the discs brown too quickly. Brown on both sides and remove to a paper towel-lined plate.