Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas

Recipe courtesy Dave Lieberman

Show: Good Deal with Dave LiebermanEpisode: Waste Not, Want Not

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (56)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(56)

Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
12 empanadas

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 20 min
Total:: 40 min

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Ingredients

For the filling:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 1/2 cups finely shredded cooked chicken
Kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 package prepared puff pastry
Flour, for rolling out pastry
About 1/4 cup vegetable oil, for brushing
Tomato and Pineapple Salsa Fresca, recipe follows

Directions

Filling:

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Saute onions and garlic until onions are soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add spices, stir to mix fully, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add black beans and chicken and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until black beans are heated through, about 5 minutes, then remove from heat and let mixture cool fully. Add cilantro and stir well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Lay out a sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Flour the top of the dough and roll out the puff pastry until it is about 1/16-inch thick and about 12 inches by 16 inches.

Trim edges to size, if necessary. Cut 4-inch strips crosswise and lengthwise making 12 (4 by 4-inch) squares. Make sure the squares are well floured and stack them in a little pile.

To form empanadas:

Fill a little dish with some room temperature water. Imagine each square you work with is separated in half by a diagonal. Place a couple tablespoons of filling in the top half. Dip a finger into the water and moisten the edges of the top half with water. Fold the bottom half to meet the edges of the top half. Use a fork to pinch and seal the edges. Lightly brush the tops with vegetable oil. Place finished pockets on a nonstick baking sheet and bake about 12 to 14 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.

Tomato and Pineapple Salsa Fresca:

1 pound ripe tomatoes (about 3 medium), roughly chopped

1 (14.5-ounce) can pineapple pieces, juice strained

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely minced

3 scallions, finely sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

1 lime, juiced

2 pinches superfine sugar

Kosher salt

In a medium bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes, pineapple, garlic, jalapeno and scallions. Mix well. Add lime juice, sugar, and salt, to taste. Toss well. Serve with the Chicken Empanadas.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas
michele chicago, IL 12-20-2009
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Yum
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This was a great recipe and easy to make even for my first time working with puff pastry. I would make this again!
recipe Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas
Abra Greensboro , NC 10-19-2009
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Good
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

It was alright i think i should have served it with sour cream or something because we dont like pineapple but it was super... easy and good.Read more
recipe Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas
Duana Escondido, CA 10-13-2009
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LOVE IT
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This is one of my family's favorite!! Very easy and perfect for a party as well!
recipe Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas
Renee Bradford, MA 10-04-2009
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Delicious to eat, infuriating to make
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

It took me a REALLY long time to make these empanadas and I'm sure it's mostly due to the fact that this was the first time I... made them. I would suggest making the squares much bigger. To make this go faster, wet the edge of the pastry, cup the square in your palm, fill, then press the edges together, put it down then crimp. I would also suggest watching Alton Brown's video on how to best handle puff pastry. It really makes a difference. I had a lot of extra filling so I'll attempt to make some more this week. Delicious!Read more
recipe Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas
Jessica Bridgeville, PA 09-17-2009
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Really Good
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

My husband made these for me and now I am hooked. They are so good. The process is a little time consuming, but it is worth... it as the recipe make quite a few :)Read more
recipe Chicken and Bean Puff Pastry Empanadas
Joanne Rochester, NY 08-14-2009
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No more Dave Lieberman for me!
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

This recipe was BAD. I was upset making it, and upset eating it, which is sad because I LOVE to cook. The actual dish is... dry as others mentioned, and there's just nothing exciting about it. Just tastes like chicken and beans plopped into some pre-made puff pastry. The salsa somewhat saves it. As far as making it, maybe I used a wrong kind of puff pastry, but cutting it like he instructed resulted in disaster, making the dish an incredible pain to make. I've tried a few of Dave Lieberman's recipes and they always turn out badly, even though they have great reviews. No more Dave Lieberman for me...there are way better cooks on FN.Read more