Recipe courtesy of Del Sur Artisan Eats
Braised Lamb Empanadas
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 20 empanadas (4 to 6 servings)
- Total: 5 hr 25 min (includes cooling and resting time)
- Active: 1 hr 5 min
Ingredients
Braised Lamb:
Salt and pepper
1 boneless leg of lamb, trimmed
4 cups red wine
2 cups demiglace
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3 bay leaves
3 stems celery, large dice
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 carrot, large dice
1 yellow onion, large dice
Sofrito:
Olive oil, for cooking
2 yellow onions, large dice
1 red bell pepper, large dice
2 tablespoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper
1 cup sweet marsala wine
Empanada Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
8 ounces warm water
For Assembling:
20 grapes
20 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water, for the egg wash
Directions
- For the braised lamb: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and preheat a grill for cooking at high heat.
- Sprinkle salt and pepper over the leg of lamb and sear on the hot grill, then place it in a roasting pan along with the red wine, demiglace, allspice, cumin, bay leaves, celery, rosemary, carrot, onion and 2 cups water.
- Braise until very tender, about 3 hours. Let cool and remove the lamb from the roasting pan. Shred the meat. Strain the vegetables and reserve the liquids.
- For the sofrito: In a large pot, add the oil, onions, peppers, garlic, salt and pepper and sauté until soft.
- Add the lamb to the sofrito, along with the reserved liquid and the marsala wine and reduce it on medium-high heat until it is nice and thick, about 10 minutes.
- For the dough: On the kitchen counter, add the flour and salt and open a hole in the center. Little by little, add the soft butter, then slowly add the warm water, kneading the dough for about 10 minutes until it is soft and uniform. Let rest 20 minutes.
- Using a sheeter or a rolling pin, stretch the dough until it is about 1/8-inch-thick, then cut with a 5-inch cookie cutter or any round mold (it can be a round container or a soup bowl).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Hold an empanada disc on your palm and add a spoon of the lamb filling, 1 grape and 1 sprig rosemary. Close it carefully with your fingers, then brush with the egg wash. Repeat to make more empanadas. Bake for 15 minutes.