Step By Step: Empañadas
story and photography by RENEE KOHLMAN
Traditionally eaten as street food in Central and South America, these savoury turnovers are great for snacking on the go, but also make a darn fine light supper. Often, empañadas are fried, but I lightened them up a little by brushing them with egg wash and baking them for about 25 minutes. The whole wheat pastry is still crispy and provides a boost of dietary fibre (just don’t tell your kids). Empañadas also freeze beautifully, so go ahead and make a double batch. You’ll be happy you did, on a particularly busy weeknight. Just bake from frozen, adding another 10 minutes or so on to the cooking time. One bite, and you can pretend you’re tangoing down the streets of Buenos Aires instead of shuffling the kids off to hockey in a snowsuit!
Whole Wheat Empañada Dough Makes 12 empañadas.
Empañadas also freeze beautifully, so go ahead and make a double batch. You’ll be happy you did, on a particularly busy weeknight. Just bake from frozen, adding another 10 minutes or so on to the cooking time. One bite, and you can pretend you’re tangoing down the streets of Buenos Aires instead of shuffling the kids off to hockey in a snowsuit!
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This is a great pastry dough; flaky and delicious, it’s perfect for bundling up savoury fillings. I usually make a double batch and keep the other in the freezer you know, for pastry emergencies. Dough: 1½ cups whole wheat flour ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour 1½ tsp salt ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 cm cubes 1 large egg 1/3 cup (80 mL) ice water, more if necessary 1 Tbs (15 mL) white vinegar
Egg wash: 1 egg 1 Tbs (15 mL) water
1. Mix flours and salt in a large bowl.
Cut in butter with a pastry blender, incorporating the butter so there are still pea-sized bits left.
2. In a small bowl, beat together egg,
water, and vinegar. Pour into the flour mixture. Stir with a fork until dough comes together and still shaggy. Note: you may need to add more ice water.
3. Turn out onto lightly floured counter
and knead a few times to bring it into a ball. Flatten into a rectangle and chill for at least one hour in the fridge.
4. Cut dough into 12 pieces, weighing them to be approximately 55 g each.
5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each ball to a 12-15 cm circle. Carefully place ⅓ cup filling in centre.
6. Brush the edges with egg wash. Fold
one edge over into a half moon shape. Pinch and crimp edges closed. Once all empañadas have been prepared, brush tops with egg wash and with a sharp knife, make a few slits so steam can escape.
7. Preheat oven to 400º F and bake on
parchment lined baking sheet for 23-26 minutes, or until golden. Serve with salsa and sour cream.