I love Empanadas. So much that now, my own little family has entirely abandoned a long-standing 3SistersFamily tradition (like 30 years long-standing!!) and now, instead of making tamales on New Year’s, we make Empanadas! I know that while 3Sisters Mama will probably threaten disowning me when she finds out, I stand by this. Empanadas are just better. I love tamales, but… obviously the empanadas are worth the family drama.
Dough:
Make this first, unless you haven’t cooked your chicken, in which case, it’s really a toss up which you should do first.
1 1/2 cups all purpose Flour
1 cup Masa Harina (Most Wal-marts and Kroger stores carry this in their Hispanic Food section, it is a corn flour, comes in a flour looking bag, usually the brand “MASECA”)
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 cup unsalted Butter, softened
1/2- 3/4 cup cold Water
Mix up the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter or forks, cut in the butter. When it looks crumbly and well incorporated, add water until you have a nice pastry. DO NOT over-knead the dough. Dough should be firm, not sticky. Cover, chill for 30 minutes while you make the filling.
Filling:
1 jar of Salsa Verde, Medium spiciness (my original recipe calls for a home-made recipe, however since I now just can my own salsa verde in the summer, I just pull out a pint jar and use 1/2-3/4 of that. Just go buy a jar of Herdez Salsa Verde. It’s fabulous.
1 lime, juiced
Salt to flavor
Handful of cilantro, finely chopped
2 cups finely shredded Chicken, white or dark (I regularly cook a whole chicken, debone, then bag and freeze it, so I just pull out a bag of mixed shredded chicken for this)
1 cup crumbled Queso Fresco
Mix the Chicken, Queso Fresco, 1/2 of the lime juice and sprinkle with salt. Add enough of the Salsa Verde to have a moist but not gooey mixture. This is your empanada filling, chill until your dough is ready. Save the rest of the lime juice for the cilantro cream, recipe follows below.
Now, take the empanada dough out and roll thin, like a pie crust. Cut into approximately 6” diameter circles. I find a heavy glass cereal bowl to be the perfect size for empanadas. Fill with the chicken and queso filling, not too full. You don’t want the dough to stretch over the filling. Crimp the edges with a fork to seal. Fry in hot oil, then place on paper towels to drain. If you are trying to be healthy you could bake these – 30 minutes in a pre-heated 375 degree oven. Before baking, chill for 30 minutes, then take one large egg, beat well with 1 Tbsp of water, and then brush the egg wash over the empanadas. Word to the wise: Skip all that crap and just FRY THEM!!
Serve with the leftover Salsa Verde, Black Beans, Cilantro Rice (I’ll have to post my recipe for that later) and Cilantro Sour Cream. I’m posting that one here:
Cilantro Cream:
If you buy a bunch of cilantro for this recipe, you should use about 1/4- 1/3 of the bunch for the filling. Take the rest of the cilantro, discard the ends of the stems and any brown or limp pieces then place in a food processor with 1 cup of Sour Cream. Puree until the Sour Cream turns a beautiful green color. Add the reserved juice from your lime you used before and a pinch of salt. Process until blended. Chill and serve with piping hot empanadas!
Traditional Filling:
If you are a real Empanada Aficionado, you may want to use this more traditional filling. If my favorite lil brother is visiting, I make sure to serve both the Green Chile Chicken Empanadas as well as traditional. He spent two years in Argentina where Empanadas are very widely eaten so he loves both kinds. My kids think the chorizo-raisin-potato combination a little weird, but it is delicious, even if my Americanized kids disagree.
3-4 Waxy red or white potatoes peeled and sliced, and boiled for about 15 min
1 pound beef Chorizo, casing removed
1 Red onion, diced
2 tsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Oregano
Recipe calls for 12 green pimento stuffed olives, but I always exclude them. Olives are crossing the line. Dad would probably love it but that is just too darn bad.
1/2 cup Golden Raisins
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
Brown the chorizo in a large frying pan with the onion and garlic. Add the potatoes and let cook for 3-4 more minutes. Drain the chorizo grease and discard. Add spices, raisins and chicken broth. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes, uncovered, while breaking up the potato slices into smaller pieces, about dime sized or so. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let filling cool, then fill dough and cook as with the other empanadas. Serve with Cilantro Cream or Salsa Verde.
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