Empanada basically means baked in pastry. These Mexican pastries are a great side, appetizer, snack or main course. There are also sweet fruit filled ones that are a terrific dessert. Empanadas range in size from empanaditas, which are ravioli sized, to empanada gallegas, which are almost pie sized.
Ingredients
Filling:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 (12-ounce) pork tenderloin, trimmed, cut into 1/3-inch medallions
- 1 serrano chile, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 6 tablespoons chopped toasted almonds
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
Dough:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup masa harina (cornmeal)*
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted, cooled
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
- 2 large eggs
Directions
For filling: Heat oil in large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add pork, serrano, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, cinnamon, and allspice to the skillet and stir for 3 minutes. Add raisins and lime juice, bring to a boil and cook until almost all liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Mix in the almonds and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper. Cool.
For dough: Butter 2 large baking sheets. Mix flour, masa harina, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Stir in melted butter. Whisk water and 1 egg in a small bowl to blend. Add to flour mixture; knead in bowl until smooth pliable dough forms, about 2 minutes. Working with half of dough at a time, roll out on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch diameter biscuit cutter, cut out rounds. Reroll scraps and cut out additional rounds for a total of 12 rounds per dough half. Whisk remaining egg in a small bowl to blend. Place 1 tablespoon filling in center of each dough round. Lightly brush edges with egg. Fold dough over, pressing edges with fork to seal. Place on prepared baking sheets. Cover with plastic wrap; chill. Note: dough can be made 1 day ahead.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush empanadas with beaten egg. Bake until light golden brown, about 25 minutes.
















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By Sweetmrose
Parkville, MD
on February 28, 2010
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I read the other reviews and saw that the pastry came out very liquid and needed another cup of flour. So I thought I would be smart and add less liquid. But the corn pastry was too fragile and hard to work with; breaking every time I tried to fold it over or fill it. The extra flour would have made it more pliable. And it would have stretched the dough, I had loads of filling left over. The filling was good. The pastry recipe just needs to be tweaked.
By dcwilcox_7626978
Pensacola, FL
on April 25, 2007
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When I made the pastry dough for this recipe it was much too wet. To counter this, I added another cup of flour and it turned out fine.
By feiger_4353049
Harrison Twp., MI
on January 15, 2007
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Filling was good. Dough wasn't "dough" until I added another cup of flour, otherwise it would've been cornbread batter. Instructions on how to form Empenadas were unclear. These are pastries that require a top and bottom crust. Seal with fork as instructed, however, I made the mistake of piercing the tops. Don't. It lost needed moisture.
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