Empanadas

One of the many things that I love about visiting the Dominican Republic is the readily accessible variety of empanadas. I had never had one until I went for my first visit. Yummm!!! Every street vendor has their own variation of these tasty treats, and they come in all sizes. Generally they are room temperature at best when bought at a street vendor, but sometimes you get lucky and find a colmado (corner store) that makes them to order.
My personal favorites are ground beef (carne molida) and ham & cheese (jamon y queso), The All Star also likes just cheese. And since travelling to the Dominican we have also discovered chicken empanadas.

Unfortunately I don't get to make these as often as I like as the empanada shells that I really like aren't sold in town. I'm going to ask and see if they can get some in for us though!

If you can find them... Goya's discos para empanadas are the best for making these (they are generally somewhere in the frozen section in FL they had a whole section of frozen Goya stuff), if not... ready made pie shells work also, but you'll need to cut discs, roll the scraps, cut the discs etc...

Starting with the easiest -

Empanadas de jamon y queso
Ham and Cheese Epanadas
The Line Up
shredded cheddar cheese - omit or use dairy free cheese substitute for dairy free
ham - I use Oscar Meyer chopped ham because it tastes closest to the ham in the Dominican, but you can use what ever you prefer

The Game Plan
I allow about 3/4 slice of ham for each empanada. Cut into small squares/rectangles. Place ham in the center of the disc and add a bit of cheese. Swipe the edges of the empanada disc with water to help seal. Fold the empanada over and pinch/roll/use a fork to crimp the ednges together. Fry until nice and golden brown.


Empanadas de Carne Molida
Beef Empanadas
The Line Up
Ground beef
taco seasoning
cheddar cheese - if desired - omit for dairy free or use dairy free cheese substitute

The Game Plan
Brown ground beef . Add about 1/4 to 1/2 of the packet of taco seasnong (not all or it will taste too taco-y) and cook as directed on seasoning packet. Place some of the ground beef in the middle of your disc and top with cheese. Swipe edges of empanada disc with water to help seal, fold over and pinch/roll/crimp edges to seal. Fry until golden brown

Empanadas de pollo
Chicken Empanadas
The Line Up
4 oz cream cheese - softened - use a dairy free cream cheese substitute for dairy free
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBSP salsa
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 c finely chopped/shredded cooked chicken

The Game Plan
Mix all ingredients together and place spoonsful in the middle of the empanada disc. Swipe the edges of the empanada disc with water to help seal. Fold the empanada disc in half and pinch/roll/crimp the edges. Fry until nice and golden brown.


Coach's Post Game Conference
I generally make 20 empanadas at a time, they are just as good as left overs as they are the first day. I admit, I like mine room temperature. So while they may get stored in the refrigerator, I will take one out and let it sit for a while. ;) Makes an easy treat in the school lunch box also! ;)
Be careful not to fill the empanadas too full, or they won't seal... will rip... will open up in the fryer (all of which happen to me every time!)
When you take the finished empanada out of the fryer/oil... be sure to hold it for a few seconds to allow the oil that has gotten inside to drip out. I generally hold it up from a few different angles to make sure that it all gets out.

Final Score
Home Runs by everyone who's tried them!!

**edited - please note - these recipes can be made dairy free by simply replacing the dairy product with a non-dairy substitute or omitting - please check the ingredients on all products - 11/7/2013

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