I promised to post the recipe for these a few days ago and then the Cubbies and the NBA and …. well … life happened. But, I promise you, they are worth the wait. I’m not sure if they are ‘authentic’, but I am POSITIVE they are SCRUMPDILIOCIOUS! You can adapt this recipe to your liking (use ground turkey or ground beef … the options are endless). I will give you the recipe for my two favorites. The first we will call ‘green’ and the second one ‘red’.
For the green empanadas, you will need:
Two pie crusts (see ‘pie crust 101’ under the Tips tab)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
a drizzle of grape seed oil or your oil of choice
1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small can of diced green chiles
2 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 t of ground cumin
2-3 t of chili powder
1 tsp of kosher salt
1 t of freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
the juice of a lime
1 egg, beaten with 1 t of water to use as an egg wash
approximately 2 cups of Chihuahua cheese or sharp cheddar or a combination of both, shredded
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Heat a saute pan on medium high. Drizzle with grape seed oil. Add the chicken and all of the ingredients except for the cilantro and lime juice. Cook on low until the chicken is tender and is easy to pull apart (approximately 15 minutes). Then add the cilantro and lime juice and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and shred the chicken with two forks. Set aside.
Roll out the dough and cut with a round pastry cutter (about the size of a margarita glass) or use a glass. This should make approximately 24 circles. Place about a tablespoon of the chicken mixture on one side of the circle. Add about a tablespoon of cheese and fold over. Seal with a fork. Poke holes in the empanadas, with a fork. Brush, lightly, with the egg wash and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown
For the red empanadas, you will need:
Two pie crusts (see ‘pie crust 101’ under the Tips tab)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
drizzle of grape seed oil or your oil of choice
1 -2 T of my taco seasoning (see recipe under ‘no more store bought spice packets’ under the Tips tab)
14 oz can of roasted tomatoes (stewed tomatoes or chopped tomatoes)
approximately 2 cups of Chihuahua cheese or sharp cheddar or a combination of both, shredded
1 egg, beaten with 1 t of water
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Heat a saute pan on medium high. Drizzle with grape seed oil. Add the chicken and add all of the ingredients. Cook on low until the chicken is tender and is easy to pull apart (approximately 15 minutes). Remove from the heat and shred the chicken with two forks. Set aside.
Follow the directions above for rolling, cutting; filling the dough and baking the empanadas.
#yumola