Southwest Empanadas Recipes

ARGENTINE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Add garlic and diced red pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chili powder, cumin, sweet paprika, and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling into small pieces, until browned. Stir in beef boullion.
• Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. Then, stir in green onion, olives, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.
• Cover and chill mixture for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days (depending on freshness of ingredients). It's important that the mixture is chilled before filling the empanadas.
• Add flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add egg and butter and stir well to combine. Add oil and warm water and stir until the mixture starts to come together into a dough ball. Add more water if it's too dry.
• Place dough in clean greased bowl and cover tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. (Or, refrigerate for up to 1 day, removing from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)
• Divide the dough into two pieces. On a greased countertop roll each piece into a very large circle, about 1/8in thick (not so thin that it might break when filling or baking).
• Use a small bowl or round cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles about 6in in diameter for regular size empanadas or 3 inch for mini empanadas (empanaditas).
• Remove the excess dough from around the cut circles and keep the circles where they are for filling them (so they hold their perfect circle shape). Leftover scraps can be re-rolled to make more dough to cut out.
• Place about 2 tablespoons of filling (for regular size empanadas) in the center of each circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges of the circle with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle.
• Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding it over.
• Baked Empanadas: Place empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with a little bit of egg wash and bake at 375° For 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked.
• Fried Empanadas: (I've found it best to refrigerate the empanadas for 20 minutes before frying to help the dough firm up and hold its shape before placing in the hot oil). Add several inches of hot oil to a pot and heat to about 365° F. Fry one or two empanadas at a time, flipping once, until golden on both sides (1-2 minutes per side). Place on a paper-towel lined plate.

SOUTHWEST BEEF EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Grease cookie sheet with shortening or cooking spray.
• In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix, 2/3 cup water, the potatoes, carrots and onion. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix and boiling water until dough forms. On surface sprinkled with Bisquick mix, roll dough in Bisquick mix to coat; knead 20 times. Divide dough into 6 balls. Pat or roll each ball into 7-inch round. Place on cookie sheet.
• Spoon about 1/2 cup beef mixture onto half of each round. Moisten edge of round with water. Fold round over beef mixture; press edge with fork to seal. Cut 3 small slits in top of each crust to allow steam to escape.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

EMPANADA DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Place the lime juice, garlic, serrano, cilantro and 1/2 tablespoon salt in a blender. Blend until smooth. Add the heavy cream, sour cream and avocados. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

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.