TRY OUT YOUR OWN HOME-MADE EMPANADA!!
Still in the celebration of National Empanada Day, I think it will only be better if a shared a few recipes on how to make your own home-made Empanada.
Empanadas vary most especially in their fillings. While some may prefer beef, others may want to use chicken, pork, shrimps, etc, most times depending on their health conditions or preferences.
Empanadas can be baked or fried. Good thing is I'll be sharing recipes on both styles!!
FOR BAKED EMPANADA
INGREDIENTS
Filling
- 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 lb. ground beef, pork or chicken (20% fat)
- 2 medium onions, finely diced
- 2 small red bell peppers, seeded, chopped (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired)
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 Tbsp. ground cumin (oziza seeds/iyere)
- 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika (tatashe)
- 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
- 1½ cups low-sodium chicken stock or broth
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) tomatoes, diced
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 1 cup fresh coriander, chopped
Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water (do not beat until ready to bake
RECIPE PREPARATION
For Filling
Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high. Cook beef, breaking up with a spoon, until browned but not completely cooked through, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving as much fat in pan as possible.
Reduce heat to medium and cook onion, bell peppers, and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, stirring, until tender but not browned, 6–8 minutes; season with salt and ground black pepper. Add cumin, paprika, and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add chicken stock and reserved beef along with any accumulated juices to pot. Stir in sugar, 4 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. black pepper and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until most of the liquid is evaporated, 15–20 minutes; taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. Fold in coriander.
Transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and chill at least 3 hours.
For The Dough
Make the dough: In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your fingers, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add just enough cold water so dough comes together. Brush water around half of outer edge of each round. Using plastic divider to help you, fold round over filling and pinch edges to seal. Using a fork, crimp edges. If desired, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, 2 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic; freeze in plastic bags.
To bake fresh or frozen empanadas, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Remove plastic and transfer empanada to a parchment-lined sheet tray, spacing 1" apart. Repeat with remaining rounds. Brush tops with egg wash, avoiding crimped edges.
Bake empanadas, rotating tray halfway through, until golden brown and slightly darker around the edges, 30–40 minutes.
FOR FRIED EMPANADA
INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 1 large egg
- Sugar (if desired for an extra sweetness)
- 2/3 cup ice water (you can add more if needed)
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar/ ¼ cup or 4 tablespoons of orange juice
- Your choice of Filling
- Vegetable oil to fry
PREPARATION
Sift flour, salt, sugar (if using) and baking powder into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Beat together egg, water, and orange juice/vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (Mixture will look shaggy.)
Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then form a ball with the dough and knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring the dough together.
Place the dough in bowl, coat with small amount of oil, cover and let rest at room temperature for about an hour.
To make the empanada discs or rounds, you can either roll out the dough into a thin layer and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate). Or you can make several small balls of dough, about 1.5 oz to 2 oz in weight, then use a rolling pin to roll them out – they don’t need to be perfectly round. It's really important to get the discs very thin since they cook very quickly when you fry them, if after cutting out the round shapes or pressing them with a rolling pin, they are still thick, try rolling each disc a little more until it is very thin. Some people also use a pasta machine to get the dough very thin.
The empanada discs can be used immediately or stored in the refrigerator or freezer to use later.
To Fill, Assemble, and Fry the Empanadas:
Use a spoon to place your choice of filling on to the center of each empanada disc.
Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, first pressing gently with your fingers, then use your fingers to gently twist the edges of the empanada. You can also use a fork to press down and seal, or one of those empanada molds if you have one.
If you have time, I recommend chilling the empanadas for 30 minutes to an hour (or longer if you are making them ahead of time), before frying them.
The empanadas can be fried either a deep fryer or a simple frying pan, just make sure to have enough oil to cover at least half the empanada if using a pan. Heat the oil, it should bubble when you add the empanadas to the oil, and fry each empanada until they are golden on each side. Don’t overcrowd the pan and if any of them break/leak remove it immediately from the oil.
Place the fried empanadas on paper towels to drain any extra oil.
Serve warm.
You are welcome!!
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