Spanish pies for dinner recipe. Empanadas by Hector Jimenez-Bravo
A little about empanadas
Mexican empanadas patties are similar to our patties, only they are prepared with puff pastry and like many mexican dishes, "empanados" with meat has a piquant fresh-spicy taste and a very appetizing smell.
You can make more empanadas and freeze some of them without baking. So when you want to please your family with a delicious dinner - just take those empanadas out of the freezer and put them in the oven to bake. A great dinner will be ready in 20 minutes!
Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Ingredients for 8 servings:
Cooking method:
1. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and defrost according to the instructions on the package.
2. In a large skillet, combine beef or chicken with onions, green and red peppers, and garlic.
3. Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onions and peppers are tender and the meat begins to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain off any grease that has formed in the pan.
4. Add the herbs, cumin and chopped tomatoes and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Then let the mixture cool for 15 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 200 C. Roll out the dough and make 10-15 cm circles out of it.
7. Sprinkle about 1 large spoon (15 ml) of grated cheese into the mixture. Fold the filled dough in half. Press down on the edges of the dough so that they stick together. Then push the edges with the tines of the fork again. Place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
8. Bake the empanadas for 18 to 20 minutes, or until browned. Then remove them from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.
Tips: Some people add canned beans, herbs, and some ground chili to the empanadas dressing. Empanadas are usually served with hot sauce, herbs and fresh vegetable salad.
Bon Appetit!
Would you like to know how dishes are prepared Mexican food professionals?
We invite you to the Mexican "Sombrero"!
Kuku! You don't think that I disappeared and forgot about the blog in favor of the beach?) But no, it's just that for the last week and a half we had a continuous series of guests, which happens in the summer when you live not very far from the seashore. But guests are, of course, pleasant household chores, among which cooking and trying new dishes takes important place... For a very long time I have wanted to try empanada, a traditional Spanish pie that my neighbors in Bilbao often made during small, friendly feasts. The recipe is incredibly simple and delicious, and, most importantly, allows it to vary depending on your preferences.
Empanada is a dish known throughout the Spanish-speaking world, but the most famous are the Galician empanadas, with which I started. By the way, they are famous not only for their taste, but also for their size, my Galician friend, for example, called my empanadas empanadillas, that is, mini-empanadas :)
In the Galician empanada, the filling is usually tuna and tomato sauce generously seasoned with spices and onions. Galician empanadas are usually quite thin and juicy filled with filling. But actually there are as many empanadas as there are countries and regions in the Hispanic world, each with its own favorite empanada.
This recipe is somewhat remotely reminiscent of the Castilian empanada, first of all, because chicken and raisins are put into the filling (which is often the case in wine regions), but, however, only one thing remains unchanged in the empanada, shortcrust pastry, tomato sauce, aromatic spices and juicy yellow onions.
So, for empanadas we need: 
For the test
1.300 grams of flour
2.120-130 grams butter, better than cold
3. One egg
4. A tablespoon of cold water
For filling
1.200 grams chicken breast or meat
2.200 grams of tomato puree. Attention! Not concentrated paste, but mashed potatoes, if no mashed potatoes were found, dilute the paste with water
3. A clove of garlic or dry garlic
4. Ground cinnamon
5. Fresh parsley or cilantro
6. One onion
7. Two tablespoons of raisins
8. Olive oil or a mixture based on it
Yes, yes, to interfere with everything better hands and not to be afraid at all, the empanada will only thank you later! It is with the hands that such a mixture mixes very quickly, skillful Spanish housewives make it in just a few minutes, although, I agree, the first time is very unusual.
An important point: the butter must be cold, otherwise the dough will then be quite sticky and difficult to roll out.
And again, an important point, the dough quickly becomes homogeneous, but it can stick. If it seems to you that the mass is too viscous, then you can add one or two tablespoons of flour. By the way, the temperature also affects cooking, if the kitchen is quite hot, the dough can be left in the refrigerator for 40 minutes.
And in the meantime, we begin to prepare the filling.
I evaporate the excess liquid, turning on the heat under the pan at high power, but at the same time constantly stirring the mixture.
You can turn off the fire under the pan and then mix all the ingredients well. If you want the mixture to cool faster, transfer it to a separate dish.
But then the most interesting begins, in fact, it is here that the preparation of the empanads themselves comes on the scene. It seems to me that one of the main keys to their success is delicious crunchy dough. Of course, you can buy the dough, but if there is a time and place, then it is better to cook it yourself. 
In an amicable way, we need a rolling pin, but we don't have it yet, and I'm rolling out the dough with a bottle. Once the dough is rolled out, start cutting out circles about 10 cm in diameter. Again, good news for the lazy - I do it with a wide glass))
We prepare empanadas like this: 
Empanadas are pies of Spanish origin that appeared at the beginning of the 16th century and subsequently became widespread in neighboring Portugal, Latin America and the United States. Actually, in translation from Spanish, the word "empanada" means a pie with a filling. Empanadas patties are usually made of small size from wheat or corn flour and deep-fried or baked in the oven. And their filling can be very diverse - meat or vegetable, spicy or spicy, but always savory. These culinary products belong to the category of snacks or fast food, so it is customary to eat them with your hands, dipped in tomato sauce and washed down with dry wine or soft drinks.
Since I am a big fan of Mexican cuisine - so bright, hearty and spicy-spicy, today I want to offer you a Mexican version of empanadas made from ready-made puff pastry with a fragrant filling of beef, cheese and various vegetables. These wonderful little pies are prepared quite simply, so even a novice cook can handle this dish and amaze the imagination of their loved ones. Finished puff pastry It rolls out easily and does not stick to your hands, so you don't need much experience and special skill to sculpt pies out of it. The filling for empanadas is also prepared quite easily and quickly, but it turns out to be simply delicious - very satisfying, spicy and spicy, with a rich meaty and delicate cheese taste.
Empanadas pies made with this simple recipe, will give your meal a real Mexican flavor. These are bright in taste and appearance pies cheer up and warm perfectly on cold winter evenings. And for parties and buffets it's easy perfect snack- well, they directly ask for a glass of cold tequila or a glass of noble "Margarita". Be sure to try!
Helpful information
Empanadas - a recipe for Mexican puff pastry pies stuffed with meat, vegetables and cheese
INGREDIENTS:
- 400 g puff yeast-free dough
- 400 g ground beef
- 1 medium onion
- 2 small colorful bell peppers
- 2 - 3 cloves of garlic
- 180 g tomato sauce
- 100 g cheese
- 10 g fresh cilantro
- salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp chopped cumin
- 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil
COOKING METHOD:
1. To cook mexican patties empanadas, onions and garlic, peel and chop finely.
2. Remove the bell peppers from the seeds and cut first along into thin strips, and then across into small cubes. 
3. Finely chop fresh cilantro, grind the cumin seeds in a mortar into a powder. You can also add parsley to this dish instead of cilantro. 
4. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, put onion and garlic and fry over medium heat for 5 - 7 minutes. 
5. Add chopped bell pepper and cook for another 5 minutes. 
6. Share chopped meat, stir and cook for 8 - 10 minutes, until all the minced meat is browned. Pour excess liquid from the pan together with the fat released from the meat.
Advice! For empanadas pies, you should choose lean minced beef or veal, or even better, cook it yourself at home from lean cuts of meat. This will make the filling crumbly and not too greasy.
7. Add salt, pepper, chopped cilantro and caraway seeds, add tomato sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes. Cool the empanadas filling for at least 15 minutes.
Advice! For making empanadas pies, it is ideal to use a special mexican sauce for example, or tacos that you can buy in large supermarkets or prepare yourself at home. However, it is quite possible to replace it with any other sauce or ketchup with a neutral taste, or with fresh or canned tomatoes cut into small cubes. In this case, you need to add a pinch to the filling. hot pepper for an authentic taste.
8. Puff yeast-free dough defrost and roll thinly on a floured surface. 
9. Using a glass, cut out circles with a diameter of 8 - 10 cm from the dough. Put a tablespoon with a slide of filling in the center of each circle and sprinkle it with cheese, grated on a fine grater. Carefully pinch the pies first with your hands, and then go along the entire seam with the teeth of a fork. From this number of ingredients, I got 14 medium-sized pies.
Advice! Cheddar cheese is most commonly used in Mexican cuisine, however, it can be substituted for any cheese with a salty, spicy or savory flavor.
10. Put the pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a special silicone mat. Bake in an oven preheated to 200 ° C for 18 - 20 minutes until golden brown. 
Delicious spicy empanadas pies with meat and cheese are ready! They are best consumed in the heat of the heat, dipped in hot tomato sauce, or just like that. Bon Appetit! 
And now a little history. My daughter is friends with Latin American students at the aerospace university. They told her about empanadas. And they told how they are preparing. But since Dachin's Spanish is not good enough to understand the recipe exactly, I had to google and study all the proposed recipes for these mouth-watering pies. My recipe is prefabricated. But I didn't get the same yellow cakes as theirs. They say they add yucca to the dough. But how and for what, we did not understand. Perhaps it was she who gave such a bright color to his pies. We regretted our homemade yucca. But even without the yucca, the pies turned out to be very beautiful and tasty. Thin, very crispy dough and juicy spicy filling. I can say for sure that I will cook them more than once.
I asked my daughter how these guys are different from us. She thought a little, then replied that they were very positive. They smile all the time. One of her friends named Juan (but he asks to call him Huanyusha) explained why they smile: “We are very warm, the weather is always good, olya ... We are always happy, so we always smile. it's cold. You can't smile because your teeth are cold. "
Spring came? Are your teeth cold? Let's smile!
Smile.
Today is a great day to be proud of who you are.
It is clear that the Spaniards brought empanadas to South America, but in each country they are made in its own way, and, moreover, differently than in Spain. Argentine empanadas especially famous. But even there there are many regional types, depending on the province: Salt, Tukuman, Huhui ... (don't giggle!). Mendoza uses milk instead of water, Buenos Aires sometimes puts yeast to create the effect of puff pastry, Salta province adds paprika ...
It is customary to put olives and chopped eggs into the filling. A typical spice, in addition to all of us the usual salt, pepper and paprika, is cumin.
I made small ones - a cocktail version, "one bite". But in everyday life they are made large, almost from the palm of your hand. The discs are cut with a diameter of ~ 15 cm. But, in fact, in the city, no one is involved in such nonsense as kneading and rolling dough and cutting out discs - in any super merkado they sell ready-made ones, you want for frying, you want for the oven. The choice is large or smaller.
And in general, in Argentina, this is simple: you call on the phone to one of the many specialized institutions, you say how much, which ones - from the oven or deep-fried, with what filling, and after 30 minutes. an order is delivered to the specified address - a box with hot empanadas, sorted by grade.
A picture is attached to them, by which you can determine which filling is hidden under which form. Yes, for each type of empanadas there is a special way of sculpting - repulgue.
In the most extreme case, if you are somewhere in the "pampas" and several tens of kilometers to the nearest store, or in another civilization that does not know about empanadas, you will have to knead the dough with your own hands. That's what I did. True, with a dough mixer.
Like pies, empanadas are deep-fried and baked. Both are very tasty. But in principle, I do not start a deep fryer and always prefer the ones from the oven.
The dough for some and for others is bland, but that for frying, there is very little fat, and in the other there is a decent amount.
Before moving on to the recipe itself, a few words about "content", ie about the stuffing.
Looking at the photo, someone will say: so what is special about these empanadas - pies like pies ... they exist in one form or another all over the world. When Argentines hear about this, they are sincerely surprised: how, in other countries, and even in Russia, is there something similar? .. Yes, yes, they firmly believe that empanadas were invented in Argentina, just like boiled condensed milk - dulce de leche... After surprise comes curiosity: how do you cook them, with what filling? But the mention of apples, jam or dried apricots will simply shock - empanadas with fruit filling can not be!
How would you react, for example, to the option of pies with corn or Swiss chard? Or even better - with sweet meat (yes, meat with raisins)? ..
Empanadas with meat, of course, is beyond competition. Meat fillings there are several main types and even a lot of regional options. Also popular are: chicken, ham with cheese, mozzarella with tomato, the already mentioned chard and corn. And also tuna, usually canned. I make them most often when I feel like it: there are always several cans of tuna in stock.
Dough:
700 g flour
100 g pork fat(lard)
10 g salt
300 ml hot water
I did half the portion,according to this I give nizhe and the amount of filling.
Melt the pork fat so that it is liquid. Dissolve the salt in hot water. Slightly adding water and fat, knead the plastic dough. Knead very well - it should be bubbly and not stick to your hands at all.
- Wrap the dough in foil and leave for at least 30 minutes. at room T °.
- Roll out on a dry table, without adding flour, in a layer of 2 mm, cut out discs of the desired diameter, put in a pile, cover with foil so that they do not dry out.
Spoon the filling into the middle of each disc, moisten the edges with water and seal with the string. If you do with different fillings, use different types of seams.
Place the empanadas on a greased baking sheet on its side.
- Brush with yolk mixed with a couple of tablespoons of milk. Bake in very hot oven(230 - 250 ° C) 12-15 min.
Here are some examples of toppings.
Tuna filling:
2 cans of tuna in s / s or in oil
1 medium onion
1 small red bell pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 hard-boiled eggs
12-15 pcs. pitted green olives (2-3 tablespoons chopped)
Salt, pepper, parsley
Finely chop onion and pepper, sauté on vegetable oil... Drain the oil or water from the tuna, chop it finely in a bowl, add the fried onion and pepper, finely chopped hard-boiled eggs, olives, salt, pepper, finely chopped parsley.
Meat filling:
500 g ground beef (or finely hand-chopped lean beef pulp)
1 onion
5 stalks of green onions
1 red pepper
12-15 olivok
2 hard-boiled eggs
sweet and spicy ground paprika
cumin
salt pepper
100 ml beef broth
beef tallow or rast. frying oil
Finely chop the onion and pepper, sauté in fat or oil, add the meat, quickly fry over high heat. As soon as the meat changes color, remove from heat, add spices, olives and a little beef broth. Season with salt and pepper, stir, cool and refrigerate. The filling should be very well chilled! Add chopped hard-boiled eggs to the filling before baking.
Chicken filling:
1/2 boiled chicken
1 red pepper
1 head of onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 tomato
a handful of green olives
2 cool eggs
ground paprika
cumin
salt pepper
some chicken broth
vegetable oil for frying
Separate the chicken meat from the skin and bones, cut into cubes. Finely chop the onion and pepper, sauté in vegetable oil, add chopped garlic, finely chopped seedless tomato, spices, salt and pepper. Keep on low heat, stirring occasionally, until a thick homogeneous mass... Remove from heat, add olives and chopped eggs. Cool, chill in the refrigerator.
I often try to make the most of a preheated oven. those. I try to bake or bake not just one thing, but several things in order. After empanadas, for example, this time she baked focaccia. :) The dough, of course, was set in advance.