I just love Empenadas, (they're kind of like a pastie), Pastel in Brazil, Pate in Haiti, they're one of those fabulous little South American foods that have no real rules about what you put in them. Which in my book makes them awesome. The pastry is light and crumbly and if you make them small you don't have to stop at one. They're great as a packed lunch, or eaten at home with a small green salad. (I eat mine with fragrant Mediterranean rice) Enjoy!
My personal favourite is Italian style filling. (I say style as when I made this it was a case of using what I had in the fridge!)
Makes about 12 depending on how big you make them.
Dough:
3 Cups Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
250g Butter. Cubed (can use margarine if you prefer)
1/4 cup water
1 egg
Combine the flour, Baking powder and salt together. (I pass it through a sieve just to make the flour finer and stop clumping)
Add the Butter and rub in with the dry ingredients until you get a rough crumbling mixture. This bit can be quite messy due to there being almost equal parts fat to flour, so be prepared for butter fingers! It will eventually resemble fat breadcrumbs...honest. Add the water and the egg and bring the mixture together to form a dough. Knead until it is soft, then set it aside in cling wrap to settle for about 30 mins. You can put it in the fridge, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.
Take a piece of dough just slightly larger than a golf ball and roll into a nice round ball, place on a lightly floured surface and roll into disk. I used a tea plate to cut mine out in even shapes, but a saucer (I would use that for a sweet filled one, or large cookie cutter) works just as well. Lightly brush half of the edge of the disk with a little milk then place a desert spoon of filling (more if you wish) into the middle and then fold over in a half moon shape, sealing the edges with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and brush with egg, bake 25 mins until light golden brown. (These can be fried in vegetable oil if you prefer in which case don't brush with egg!)
Filling.
1 medium onion - diced
1 red Bell pepper - diced
1 yellow Bell pepper - diced
Button mushrooms sliced
Bacon - fat removed and sliced
Chorizo Sausage - sliced and roughly chopped
Marjoram
Parsley
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Cheese grated
Fry the Chorizo and bacon until cooked then put on some kitchen paper to drain the fat. Fry the onion, peppers and mushrooms, sprinkle with the herbs and grate a little cheese over the top, once softend, place all into a bowl and them mix with the Chorizo and bacon. Allow to cool.
Lay your Empenada disks out on a chopping board and fill and fold.
If cooking in the oven preheat to 350 degrees f (180c) or add a little oil to a large frying pan and fry in batches until a light golden brown colour.
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| Ready to cook! |
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