Empanadas

April 8: National Empanada Day

Empanadas, dumplings, turnovers, pasties, samosas, pierogis, calzones, baozi—these dough-filled delicacies are called different things in different cultures and we have eaten various versions of these at food festivals, restaurants or our international friends’ get-togethers.  For National Empanada Day, we focus on the Filipino meat-filled pastry. The recipe is influenced from its Spanish roots and is simplified by the use of packaged pie crusts.

Recipe

(Adapted from Filipino Foods)

Ingredients

• ½ pound of lean ground beef, pork or chicken
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced
• salt and pepper to taste
• ¼ cup raisins
• oil for frying the filling
• 1 package (15 ounces) refrigerated pie crust
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet and brown the ground meat. Add the onions, garlic, potatoes, salt and pepper and sauté until the potatoes are cooked through.  Stir in the raisins. Drain any grease from the skillet and let the filling cool.

Prepare the dough. If frozen, thaw the pie crusts as directed on the package. Roll out the dough and use a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter or rim of a glass to cut out circles. Place about 1 ½ teaspoons of filling in the middle. Wet the edges of the dough with a little water to help seal it together. Press the edges of the empanadas with the tines of a fork.

If using a dough press, cut out circles with the bottom of the press. Lightly grease the press before putting the dough on top. Place filling in the middle. Wet the edges of the dough with a little water to help seal it together. Close the press and carefully remove the empanadas.

Place the empanadas on a lightly greased baking sheet.  Brush the tops with egg wash.  Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until brown. Serve hot.

Notes

• Avoid overfilling the dough or the empanadas will explode!
• An egg wash gives the dough a nice golden gloss.
• Empanadas can also be deep fried instead of baked.
• Search our blog for recipes posts on other dough-filled delicacies.