Chicken and Olive Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 10 empanadas
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 10 servings
- Calories
- 455
- Total Fat
- 32
- Saturated Fat
- 6
- Carbohydrates
- 25
- Dietary Fiber
- 3
- Sugar
- 1
- Protein
- 18
- Cholesterol
- 79
- Sodium
- 474
- Total: 1 hr 20 min
- Active: 15 min
Ingredients
Chimichurri Sauce:
1 1/4 cups lightly-packed parsley leaves
1 cup lightly-packed oregano leaves
1/2 cup lightly-packed cilantro leaves
6 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
Filling:
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds total)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
A few sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon lard or vegetable oil
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
Kosher salt
1 heaping teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper, minced
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup pimento-stuffed green olives, roughly chopped
10 frozen empanada wrappers, thawed
Directions
- For the chimichurri sauce: Combine the parsley, oregano, cilantro, garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a food processor. Process until coarsely chopped. Add the vinegar and pulse to combine. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the oil and 2 tablespoons water. Set aside at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before serving. Makes 1 cup.)
- For the filling: Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Put the chicken thighs skin-side down in a large saucepan. Add the broth, parsley sprigs and bay leaf, turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until a meat thermometer inserted in a piece of chicken near the bone registers 150 degrees F, about 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin and shred the meat into large pieces; you should have about 2 cups. Place in a medium bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of the broth. (Strain and keep the rest to make delicious soup!).
- Wipe out the saucepan, heat it over medium heat and add the lard. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring, until soft but not brown, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the cumin and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the 1/2 cup broth and let it bubble and thicken, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture over the chicken, add the olives and toss to combine. Taste and add salt if necessary-the filling should be aggressively seasoned, since it will be wrapped in the dough. Pop the chicken into the refrigerator just until cool, about 10 minutes.
- To make the empanadas: Place a small bowl of cool water by your work surface. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Working with 1 wrapper at a time and keeping the rest covered, brush a little water on one edge of the empanada wrapper. Put 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the wrapper and fold in half. Use your finger to press out the air, making a border of about 1/2 inch around the filling. Press with a fork to seal the edges. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
- Bake the empanadas until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Serve warm with the chimichurri sauce.