Spicy Empanadas Recipes

Steps:

• Make filling: Place chicken breast, half the onion, and the bay leaf in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and poach until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate; reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, and discard onion and bay leaf. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred meat from the bone with a fork; set aside.
• Roast poblano chile directly over a gas flame, turning as each side blackens and blisters. (Alternatively, roast chile under the broiler.) Transfer to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap; let steam 10 minutes. Remove plastic wrap; peel off and discard blackened chile skin. Remove stem, seeds, and ribs; discard. Slice chile into 1/4-inch strips; set aside.
• Finely chop remaining onion. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic; saute until soft and translucent. Stir in cumin and canela; cook 1 minute. Add shredded chicken, tomatoes, chipotle, poblano, and reserved cooking liquid. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until liquid has thickened, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper; stir in cilantro and pepitas. Set aside to cool.
• Make empanadas: Break off a 1 1/2-inch ball of empanada dough. On a clean work surface, roll dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch cookie cutter, cut out a round of dough. (Or use an inverted glass as a guide, cutting around it with a sharp paring knife.)
• Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of each round; sprinkle with cheese. Using a pastry brush, moisten edges of dough with water; fold dough over to seal, pressing gently. Crimp edges with a fork; set aside. Repeat with remaining dough. Gather scraps and reroll. (Only do this once, to avoid toughening the dough.)
• Pour remaining oil into a medium saucepan; oil should be 2 inches deep. Place over medium heat until oil reaches 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working with a few empanadas at a time to avoid overcrowding, fry until golden, turning once, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to drain on a paper-towel lined baking sheet. While still hot, sprinkle tops with sugar. Serve immediately with crema pura or cream on the side, if desired.

Steps:

• Remove casings and chop linguica.
• Sauté onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add all remaining ingredients except pie crust and egg; cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes more and set aside.
• Unroll pie crust and cut into circles with a 3-inch cutter.
• Gather scraps, then reroll and cut into circles on a lightly floured board. Preheat oven to 400°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Place a small spoonful of meat mixture onto half of each dough circle.
• Moisten edges with water and fold over to enclose filling; pinch edges to seal. Place on baking sheets and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Steps:

• For the sauce:
• Combine all ingredients and whisk till smooth.
• For the empanadas:.
• Take the pastry sheets out of the freezer 40 minutes before your empanadas will be ready to be filled.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Peel the potatoes and dice them fairly small. Cover them with water and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or till tender.
• Meanwhile, mince the onion and place in a large bowl with the beef, all the sugar and spices, and the milk. Knead with your hands until the mixture is very soft.
• Cook the meat mixture in a skillet over medium heat until the beef is browned.
• Drain the potatoes and mix them in with the meat. Drain any excess fat. (The potatoes should soak most of it up).
• Cut the pastry into 24 equal rectangles and divide the mixture between them.
• Divide the cream cheese into 24 portions as well and squish it on top of the meat so it evenly covers.
• Fold the pastry over and seal the edges by folding or pinching.
• Place on baking sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown.
• Remove from oven, place on serving plate, and dip in the sauce if you desire!

Steps:

• For the empanada dough: Mix all empanada ingredients in a mixer. Let dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
• For the filling: Bake the chicken breast until fully cooked. Put breast meat in a food processor and pulse until chopped (you don't want very small pieces). Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Add onions, green and red bell peppers, salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, red pepper, oregano and basil. Cook until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Pour in chipotle sauce and stir. Finally add tomato sauce. Allow filling to cool.
• To form the empanadas, knead the dough. Roll the dough out by hand or with a commercial sheeter. Cut out circles of dough. Place a dough circle in an empanada mold if you have one, but it's not necessary; fill with chicken mixture. Wet the edges of the dough with your fingers. Close the mold to seal, or fold dough over filling and use the tines of a fork to seal the edges. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Use a pastry brush to paint empanadas with an even coat of egg wash.
• Preheat a convection oven to 450 degrees F, or regular oven to 400 degrees F. Place empanadas on greased baking sheets. Bake for 3 minutes in convection oven or 10 to 15 minutes in regular oven.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line one sheet pan with aluminum foil and another with parchment paper.
• Rub the sweet potatoes with olive oil and prick them all over with the tines of a fork. Place the potatoes on the foil-lined sheet pan. Bake for about 1 hour, until very tender when pierced with a knife. Lower the oven to 375 degrees.
• Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle, then peel and discard the skins, placing the potatoes in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sour cream, butter, maple syrup, chile powder, orange zest, orange juice, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 3/4 teaspoon black pepper and mix well. Set aside.
• Unfold one sheet of the cold puff pastry on a floured cutting board. Roll the sheet into a 12-inch square with a rolling pin. With a sharp paring knife, cut four 5-inch circles from the pastry, using a dish as a guide and discarding the scraps. Place a heaping soup spoon of filling on each circle, leaving a 1-inch border. Brush the edges of the circles with the egg wash and fold over, making half circles. Crimp the edges together with the tines of a fork. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry. Place on the parchment-lined sheet pan. Chill for 15 minutes.
• Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with the sea salt and pepper. Make 2 small slits in each empanada to allow steam to escape. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffed and browned. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Blend all the cashew cream ingredients in a blender until smooth. Set aside.
• Fry onion and garlic for a few minutes, then add the ground pork and the ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper. Continue stirring and browning the meat until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.
• Add all the fruit, raisins, almonds, and pine nuts, stir to combine, then remove from heat and chill.
• Poach the poblano pepper, remove the skin. Open and remove the seeds and veins, then cut into strips. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 500˚F (250˚C) (or as high as your oven will go).
• For the empanada dough, mix flour, butter, salt and milk, kneading into a dough. Add egg, then knead until firm.
• Pinch off a bit of dough and flatten into a circle, adding two strips of chile poblano and the meat filling.
• Put a bit of water on your finger and wet the edge of half the empanada. Close the empanada and use a fork to seal the edges.
• Brush with an egg wash before putting on a baking sheet.
• Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
• Top the empanadas with cashew cream and garnish with pomegranate and cilantro.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Toast spices in small, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, shaking pan often, 2 to 3 minutes. Be careful not to scorch spices. Let cool, finely grind, and combine with garlic.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Bring pork to room temperature; rub with spice mixture. Roast in a heavy roasting pan until pork is very well done and falling off the bone, about 2 1/2 hours. Let stand until cool enough to handle. Trim fat and remove pork from bone. Dice into small pieces, cover, and set aside.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; saute, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add pork, 2 cups salsa verde, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, pepper, and stock. Simmer until liquid starts to thicken, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Whisk together flour, shortening, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and baking powder in bowl. Add 2 1/2 cups warm water; knead dough until smooth. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. Divide into 60 1 1/2-inch balls; cover with plastic.
• Lightly flour work surface; roll out each dough ball to 3 1/2-inch disk. Place 1 heaping tablespoon pork filling in center of each; fold dough to enclose filling and form a half moon. Seal edges by crimping with fork.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange empanadas on parchment-lined baking sheets; generously brush with butter. Bake 2 pans (meanwhile, refrigerate others) until light brown, 20 to 25 minutes; rotate pans between racks halfway through. Let cool slightly; bake remaining pans. Serve with remaining salsa verde.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles, 5-7 minutes; drain. Stir in cream cheese, preserves, carrot and seasonings. Cool slightly., On a lightly floured work surface, unroll sheets of pie crust. Cut 40 circles with a floured 3-in. cookie cutter, rerolling crust as necessary. Place half of the circles 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Top each with 1 rounded tablespoon beef mixture. Top with remaining crust circles; press edges with a fork to seal., Brush tops with egg yolk; sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut slits in tops. Bake until golden brown, 12-15 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack., Meanwhile, in a microwave, warm sauce ingredients, stirring to combine. Serve with empanadas. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked empanadas on waxed paper-lined baking sheets until firm. Transfer to a freezer container; return to freezer. To use, bake empanadas as directed, increasing time as necessary. Prepare sauce as directed.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle turkey with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Cook turkey, breaking up with a spoon, until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, olives and jalapeños. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer until turkey is cooked through and tomatoes are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Pull dough into 4 flat disks, each 8 inches in diameter. Top each round with 1/2 cup turkey filling. Fold dough in half and fold bottom edge over top. Press closed. Transfer to cookie sheet and coat empanadas with cooking spray. Bake until dough is firm and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with 1/2 cup baby carrots. Store empanadas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.