Cooking Club Empanadas Recipes Recipe Cards

EMPANADAS

Steps:

• For the empanada dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.
• In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then whisk in the stock. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and knead until a dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, for the empanada filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the ground beef and garlic salt and cook until the beef is cooked completely. Drain the grease and set the beef aside.
• In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, oregano, seasoned salt, garlic, bell peppers and onions. Cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the beef and let them love each other with fire over low heat for about 5 more minutes. The mixture should be moist but not dripping wet. Now you are ready to fill the empanadas.
• Lightly flour a work surface and roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 4-, 5- or 6-inch rounds, depending on how large you prefer. Add some meat filling to each empanada and fold the dough over in half to enclose the filling. Use a fork to press and seal the edges closed. You can refrigerate the uncooked empanadas for up to 3 hours.
• Heat the oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees F. Fry the empanadas until golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes.
• For the aioli dip: Mix together the mayonnaise, adobo sauce and lime juice. (The flavor will enhance if it sits in the refrigerator.)

EMPANADAS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook about 6 minutes, until translucent. Crumble in the beef and add the paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Drain off the excess grease. Stir in the vinegar. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for about 1 hour, until chilled. Stir in the olives and hard boiled egg whites.
• If baking the empanadas, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. and coat 2 baking sheets with vegetable oil.
• When working with the empanada disks, always keep all but the disk you're working with covered with a damp towel (not too wet). If the disks are very firm, place them 1 at a time on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll them to 1/2 to 1 inch larger than they are - to make them a little more pliable.
• To fill: lay an empanada disk on the work surface. Place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the dough disk. Tuck a cube of cheese into the center of the filling. Use your finger to wet the edges of the disk with water and fold over to seal. Gently press the tines of a fork along the edge to crimp. Lay the empanada on a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough disks.
• Brush the tops of the empanadas with vegetable oil and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot!
• If frying the empanadas, fill a skillet 3/4 inch deep with vegetable oil and heat to 360 degrees F, over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with paper towels. Fry the empanadas in the oil until golden brown and crisp - about 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Remove with tongs, letting the excess oil drip off back into the pan. Transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and kepp warm in the oven while you fry the remaining empanadas. Serve hot.

COOKING CLUB EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Saute hamburger with onion and garlic until the meat is no longer pink.
• Stir in remaining ingredients.
• Cook for 15 minutes over medium heat.
• Cool completely.
• Roll pastry to 1/8"thickness.
• Cut into 3"rounds.
• Place a spoonful of filling on each round.
• Dampen pastry edges.
• Fold pastry over.
• Prick top with a fork.
• Can be frozen at this point.
• Place on ungreased cookie sheet one inch apart.
• Bake 20 minutesat 350.