Who would’ve thought that Empanadas {beef patties, chicken, vegetable stuffed pastry} would ever become such a great treat? Not only has it become a great appetizer served everywhere I go and it’s funny since as for me they have always just been another dish that have had the pleasure to indulge. Many people of many different cultures make their own version of Empanadas they are called many different ways for example: in Belize they’re called “panades” made in a corn dough, with the exception that in Belize they are stuffed with fish, chicken or beans. Thought to have originated in Spain, where the Empanada Festival is part of Galician culture, the name comes from empanar, or to coat with bread. Empanadas can be also great as part of a “tapas” meal. Served as snacks/appetizers with a dipping sauce.
My version of the empanadas is not your typical Colombian version is mixed a little bit with all versions, but one thing I urge you to do is to accompany them with the dipping sauce that will give the extra kick. The Empanadas that I enjoyed my mom make and other family members are delicious made with shredded meat potatoes and the pastry is made with cornmeal, my version are made in a casing of all-purpose flour and I use a combination of ground meat and ground pork; the reason for the pork is simple pork gives it a different flavor and for many years my children and family members have enjoyed them so much that they suggest I should sell them and that is also an option here at Fabby’s Delights. Another fantastic version of the Empanadas is the vegetarian recipe but I always wonder are they less fattening? after all they’re fried; however if you use a Filo pastry dough they can be baked and that I believe is a much better option if you are trying to stay away from high calories. Another suggestion is to buy the already made discs for empanadas, it will save you time and they’re just as delicious, you find both types of discs from Goya one for baked empanadas and the other of course for frying.
Fabby's Empanadas
Empanadas, with beef this can also be substitute with chicken.
Ingredients
- Filling:
- 1 LB of Ground Round Beef
- 1/4 LB of Pork (this gives it taste) but you don't have to use if chose not to.
- 1/2 Red Onion diced
- 3 Diced cloves of garlic
- 1 Russet potato peeled and diced
- 2 Scallions chopped and diced
- 1 Package of Sazón Goya with Culantro and Achiote
- 1 Package of chicken Bouillon preferable if it's Goya brand
- 1 Cup of Chicken broth
- Dough:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 stick of butter (4 oz.), cut in 8 pieces
- ¼ cup or 4 tablespoons of orange juice
- 2/3 water, add more if needed
- Your choice of filling(s)
- Oil for frying
Directions
- Step 1 For beef Filling:
- Step 2 In a deep pot take 4 tablespoons of Vegetable oil
- Step 3 saute onions and garlic in a med/low heat for about 10 minutes.
- Step 4 add ground meat and ground pork stir and add the 1/2 cup of broth
- Step 5 keep stirring so meat does not clump up.
- Step 6 add diced potatoes and diced tomato, also add the chicken bouillon.
- Step 7 keep cooking in low heat covered. Stir once in a while let cook until diced potatoes are soft once they’re soft remove from heat. Let Cool Completely
- Step 8 Directions for dough:
- Step 9 Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor.
- Step 10 Add the pieces of butter and pulse until mixed.
- Step 11 Add the orange juice and sparkling water – start with ½ cup of water and then add more as needed, pulse and mix until clumps of dough start to form.
- Step 12 Form a ball with the dough and knead lightly.
- Step 13 Place the dough in bowl, coat with small amount of oil, cover and let rest at room temperature for about an hour.
- Step 14 To make the empanada discs or rounds, you can either roll out the dough into a thin layer or cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate). Or you can make several small balls of dough, about 1.5 oz. to 2 oz. in weight, then use a rolling-pin to roll them out – they don’t need to be perfectly round. It’s really important to get the discs very thin since they cook very quickly when you fry them, if after cutting out the round shapes, they are still thick, try rolling each disc a little more until it is very thin. Some people also use a pasta machine to get the dough very thin.
- Step 15 The empanada discs can be used immediately or stored in the refrigerator or freezer to use later
