Baked Empanada

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Empanada Recipe

Ingredients

·  2 lbs coarsely chopped chicken (you can use chicken breast but thighs taste better) 

    or you can use ground pork

·  2 tbsp cooking oil

·  salt and pepper to taste

·  1 piece medium-sized yellow onion, minced

·  2 gloves garlic, minced

·  1 medium potato, diced

·  1 carrot, diced

·  1/4 cup raisins

·  1/2 cup green peas (if you don't like green peas like me, you can disregard this)

1.                   In a heated pan with cooking oil, saute garlic, onion & carrot until onions are soft and translucent.

2.                  Add chicken and stir fry until meat is cooked thru (about 5 minutes). 

3.                  Add cream of asparagus soup and potatoes and cook until vegetables are tender (about 10 minutes).

4.                  Add green peas and raisins and simmer for about 5 minutes.

5.                   Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

6.                  Remove from heat. Set aside to cool or store in refrigerator overnight.

Tip:  Prepare the filling ahead of time.  I usually cook it at night and refrigerate overnight to make the flavors blend really well.  If you're in a rush, give it at least half an hour to cool down... you don't want to put a hot filling straight onto the dough. 

I've also tried freezing the extra filling i had and used it for the next batch a couple days later.  Works great too.

Dough

·  4  cups sifted  flour ( I always use unbleach flour)

·  1/4 cup sugar

·  1/2 tsp baking powder

·  1/2 tsp salt

·  1 cup butter, cold

·  6 tbsp ice water

·  1 raw egg (for use later as egg wash - see instructions #16-18)

·  Tools you need: rolling pin, pastry blender (if you don't have one you can use bread knife/fork), pastry brush, round cookie cutter or dough press

1.                   In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt then mix well.

2.                  Cut the cold butter into small thin pieces and drop them on the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients.

3.                  Using a fork, two bread knives, a pastry blender or your fingers, work the butter into the flour (i use both pastry blender and fingers).

4.                  Don't stop until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

5.                   Add cold water one tablespoon at a time and mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

6.                  Keep mixing until a dough is formed.

7.                   Divide the dough into individual pieces by grabbing a piece from the whole mixture and rolling it in your hand until a pingpong-sized ball is formed. Do this until all the dough is consumed. Chill in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or until ready to use.

8.                  On a floured surface and with floured hands, press the spherical dough with your palm to make it flat.

9.                  Use a floured rolling pin to flatten it fully while creating a round shape.  Make sure the flattened dough is wide enough to fit on your dough press or a round cookie cutter.

Use a round cookie cutter or top rim of any bowl to press on the dough, cut a spherical shape then remove excess dough.  Place the filling and slices of hard-boiled egg at the middle of the dough.  Fold the dough so that opposite ends meet then press the edges together and seal with fork or twist/fold/pinch.  As you can see in the photo, i'm not very good at it.

14.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

15.  On a greased baking tray or lined with waxed paper,  arrange the sealed doughs.

16.  Prepare the egg wash by cracking an egg and separating the  white from the yolk.

17.  Beat the egg white lightly and mix about 1 teaspoon of water.

18.  Brush each empanada with egg wash. 

19.  Bake for 25 minutes.  

10.  Remove from oven and allow to cool in tray for 5 minutes.

21.  Transfer on a cooling rack.

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