Photo: Leigh Loftus
When you’re pressed for time, cooking meals that can be frozen for later is practically a necessity. Instead of resigning yourself to reheated casserole and a freezer full of soup, look to perfect empanadas, a Latin American style street food, for quick weeknight meals or easy appetizers to serve to guests anytime.
The key to making delicious empanadas is making delicious filling. Empanadas, which are made by folding dough or bread around a variety of meat, cheese, vegetables or fruits, are quite simple to concoct in your home kitchen. However, no one does empanadas quite like the chefs at Tanta in Chicago, under the helm of Gastón Acurio and Jesús Delgado.
According to Delgado, the key to making the perfect empanada is to prepare them the day before you plan on serving them, freeze them, and then fry them while they are still frozen.
Photo: Leigh Loftus
- 10 ounces of diced beef tenderloin
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 3 teaspoons panca chili paste (red chili pepper paste)
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- 1 cup beef stock
- Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- Cumin, to taste
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 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 garlic; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in chili pepper and raisins. Add beef stock and cook over medium until mixture has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cumin. 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 the empanadas.- Cut each ball into four equal pieces. Cover with plastic; let stand until slightly risen, 20 minutes. Shape into balls.
- On floured surface, roll out each piece of dough into an 8-inch round. Divide filling evenly among rounds, spreading it over half of each and leaving a ½-inch border.
- Brush border of bottom halves with water; fold top halves over filling to enclose completely. Press edges to seal with your fingertips, then crimp firmly with a fork.
- 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.
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