Quick Empanadas Recipes

EMPANADA DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk together the 2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in a bowl until evenly blended; make a well in the center of the mixture. Whisk the egg yolk and water together in a small bowl until smooth; pour into the well and mix to form a stiff dough. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
• Roll the dough with a rolling pin until thin, sprinkling with flour to prevent from sticking. Brush with melted butter and roll it like a jelly roll. Cut with a sharp knife into 1 1/2-inch slices. Roll each piece into a circle and fill with about 1 tablespoon filling. Fold over into half moons and seal.

EMPANADAS

Steps:

• DAY BEFORE: Cream butter and cream cheese together until smoothly blended. Beat in the flour. Shape dough into a smooth ball, wrap in foil or cling wrap, and refrigerate overnight or up to a week.
• AT BAKING TIME: Remove dough from refrigerator 30 minutes before using. Start heating oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Roll chilled dough thin. Cut with 3 or 4 inch round cookie cutter. Place small spoonful of jam in center of each round, moisten edges with water.
• Fold round over and press edges together. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately roll in sugar mixed with cinnamon (traditional) OR in confectioners' sugar if preferred.

BASIC EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Make the filling: In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, cook meat until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Add onion and jalapenos; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and tomatoes. Cook over medium until mixture has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cilantro. Let cool.
• 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.
• Form empanadas. 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. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with egg wash, avoiding crimped edges. Bake until golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through, 30 to 40 minutes.

ARGENTINIAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• In a large frying pan, sautée the onions in the oil and butter. (Using butter is important since once cold, it will make assembling the empanadas easier). Sprinkle the crushed cube of vegetable stock (This enhances flavour). Add in the meat. Cook until slightly coloured (it is not recommended to cook well meat well, since then, the empanadas will be baked or fried, so a double cooking process will make meat harder!)
• ncorporate the tomato sauce (this is optional, but I find this makes empanadas "juicier", Argentinians love it when their empanadas drip the meat/onions/tomato juice!; this is also why you don't have to skimp on the onions...) Cook for 2'. Add in all the spices, the olives and hard-boiled eggs. Refrigerate, preferably 24hs.
• In a bowl, put the flour, adding slowly the melted fat or butter. Incorporate this using a fork. Then, put the mixture on your table, making a mound with a well in the center. Start adding the salmuera, little by little, make a ball. The mixture should not be neither too dry not too sticky. If the last happens, rub your hands with flour, and keep on kneading as you would bread dough. Continue until the dough is smooth.
• Form a ball, and let the dough rest (cover with a towel) for 15'. On a floured table top, flatten the dough ball, with a rolling pin, until it is 3 mm wide. Then, cut 12cm wide circles, using a pastry ring mold or a tea saucer.
• Nowadays, in Argentina, people rarely make the dough themselves, since it can be bought, pre cut, in the right size, in any supermarket. If you want to avoid the hassle of making the dough yourself, you can buy pastry puff sheets and cut them into smaller disks of the right dimension...the flavour won't be the same, but it is a great time-saver!
• OK, a spoonful of the filling is on the pastry disk, seal them as you see in the photo
• Place the empanadas on a baking tray, brushed with sunflower oil. Bake them (200°C°) for 15/20' until golden brown.
• For extra brilliance and taste, you can brush the empanadas with egg yolk. Some people love sprinkling cassonade (brown) sugar on them! (My family adores that !!)

QUICK AND EASY EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Brown the ground beef in a frying pan adding the salt and pepper just before done.
• Let the beef cool.
• In a large bowl mix the corn, onions, cheese, and salsa, then add the cooled beef mixing carefully so not to break up all the cheese.
• Roll the biscuits out flat to about 2-1/2 times their size.
• Place approx 1/3 cup filling on one side of the center of the circle lengthwise.
• Fold the dough over the filling like a turn over and crimp the edges like a pie crust. Be careful not to tear the dough, and to seal the edges completely or your filling will come out! depending on how much filling is used will determine how many biscuits you will use.
• Place on slightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 till lightly browned.

QUICK EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat the flour tortillas on both sides until quite warm. Keep them inside a clean kitchen cloth.
• Meanwhile, heat a deep, heavy iron pan with enough oil to fry.
• In a large bowl, mix the remaining ingredients draining any excess liquid. Fill each tortilla with about a tablespoon of the mixture and secure with a toothpick.
• Place on the hot oil VERY CAREFULLY and fry 3 mins on both sides. Garnish with sour cream and salsa.

QUICK VEGETARIAN PICADILLO EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add lentils, sofrito, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper; cook for 4 minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and stir in potatoes, tomato sauce, and olives. Simmer until mixture is warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Fill a deep skillet or frying pan with 2 inches vegetable oil and place over medium heat while you assemble the empanadas.
• Set empanada discs on a clean work surface. Add 1/4 cup of lentil-potato mixture to the center of one half of an empanada disc in a half moon shape (so it follows the curve of the wrapper). Wet your fingers in a bowl of water and run them around the entire edge of the wrapper to moisten. Fold the wrapper in half to cover the filling and pinch the edges of the dough together to seal, then use a fork to crimp the edges to secure the wrapper further. Repeat with the remaining discs and filling.
• Once oil has reached 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), add empanadas in a single layer; do not overlap. You will need to cook in batches.
• Fry until empanadas are golden brown and crispy, flipping once or twice so they brown evenly while frying, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat to cook remaining empanadas.

QUICK CHICKEN AND OLIVE EMPAñADAS

Steps:

• Combine first 11 ingredients in heavy medium skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to processor; grind coarsely. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in breadcrumbs. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate filling until cold, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Line baking sheet with foil; sprinkle with flour. Place gyoza wrappers on work surface. Lightly brush edge of each wrapper with beaten egg. Place heaping 1 teaspoon filling in center of each gyoza wrapper. Fold gyoza wrapper in half and crimp edges with tines of fork to seal. Transfer empanadas to prepared baking sheet. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover empanadas and refrigerate.)
• Heat canola oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add empanadas to oil and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Drain empanadas on paper towels. Serve warm.
• *Gyoza wrappers can be found at Asian markets and in the refrigerator section of many supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute wonton wrappers and cut into 3 1/2-inch rounds.