Make Ahead Southwestern Chili Cheese Empanadas Recipes

SOUTHWEST EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl, mix together the beans, cheese and chicken. Working in batches, lay out the empanada wrappers on a clean work surface. Place a heaping tablespoon of the bean filling into the center of each wrapper. Fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape and press the edge to seal. Using a fork, crimp the edge to completely seal. Transfer the empanadas to the prepared baking sheets.
• In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 2 tablespoons water. Brush the empanadas with the egg wash. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

CORN, CHEESE & CHILLI EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Make the filling by mixing the corn, coriander, spring onion, cheese and chilli with some seasoning.
• Unroll the pastry sheet, roll a little thinner with a rolling pin, then use a 10cm circle cutter to cut out circles of pastry. (You should get 6 circles, then re-roll the trimmings for 2 more.) Brush edges of the circles with a little of the beaten egg, then spoon a couple of teaspoonfuls of filling mixture onto each. Fold over one half of the pastry, and seal by pinching the edge with your fingers, until you have 8 small pastyshaped empanadas. Arrange on a baking parchment lined baking sheet, brush with the rest of the egg and scatter with sesame seeds. Cover and chill for at least 30 mins before baking.
• To serve, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6 and bake for 20 mins until golden and crisp.

CHILEAN EMPANADA

Steps:

• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat; cook the onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper in the melted butter until the onion is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the ground pork and cook until completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes more; drain the fat from the skillet. Stir the eggs, raisins, and olives into the mixture. Whisk the water and cornstarch together in a small bowl; pour into the skillet and stir until the liquid thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Whisk the milk and melted shortening together in a bowl until evenly blended. Stir the flour and salt together in a separate large bowl. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and whisk until well mixed into a dough. Set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place the dough onto a lightly-floured board and roll to about 1/8-inch thick; cut into circles with a round cookie cutter or glass. Drop equal portions of the pork mixture into the center of each circle. Fold each circle in half and press edges with a fork to seal. Brush the tops of the empanadas with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes.

CHILEAN-STYLE CHEESE EMPANADAS (FRITAS DE QUESO)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.
• Gently mix the vegetable shortening into the flour.
• Place the milk and water in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling.
• Stir the hot liquid into the flour mixture. Add more water (1 tablespoon at a time) if the mixture seems too dry and crumbly, or add more flour if the mixture is too wet and sticky.
• Knead dough gently until well mixed and homogenous.
• Divide dough into 16 portions, and roll each piece into a ball. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
• Grate or finely chop cheese.
• Roll each ball of dough into a 6- to 7-inch circle.
• Place 1 ounce of cheese in the center of each dough circle.
• Fold the dough in half over the cheese to form a semicircle.
• Press down firmly along edges to seal.
• Roll the edge inward over itself and press down again to seal.
• Crimp edge decoratively with a fork, pressing to seal.
• In a deep-sided skillet, pot, or deep-fat fryer, heat several inches of vegetable oil to 350 F. Fry empanadas in batches, turning at least once, until golden brown.
• Drain empanadas on paper towels.
• Empanadas can be kept warm in a 200 F oven for up to 1 hour before serving. Serve warm.

ARGENTINE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.
• Add garlic and diced red pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chili powder, cumin, sweet paprika, and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling into small pieces, until browned. Stir in beef boullion.
• Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. Then, stir in green onion, olives, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.
• Cover and chill mixture for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days (depending on freshness of ingredients). It's important that the mixture is chilled before filling the empanadas.
• Add flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add egg and butter and stir well to combine. Add oil and warm water and stir until the mixture starts to come together into a dough ball. Add more water if it's too dry.
• Place dough in clean greased bowl and cover tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. (Or, refrigerate for up to 1 day, removing from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)
• Divide the dough into two pieces. On a greased countertop roll each piece into a very large circle, about 1/8in thick (not so thin that it might break when filling or baking).
• Use a small bowl or round cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles about 6in in diameter for regular size empanadas or 3 inch for mini empanadas (empanaditas).
• Remove the excess dough from around the cut circles and keep the circles where they are for filling them (so they hold their perfect circle shape). Leftover scraps can be re-rolled to make more dough to cut out.
• Place about 2 tablespoons of filling (for regular size empanadas) in the center of each circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges of the circle with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle.
• Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding it over.
• Baked Empanadas: Place empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with a little bit of egg wash and bake at 375° For 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked.
• Fried Empanadas: (I've found it best to refrigerate the empanadas for 20 minutes before frying to help the dough firm up and hold its shape before placing in the hot oil). Add several inches of hot oil to a pot and heat to about 365° F. Fry one or two empanadas at a time, flipping once, until golden on both sides (1-2 minutes per side). Place on a paper-towel lined plate.

BEEF EMPANADA RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat or parchment paper.
• Unroll pie crusts on a clean, flat surface. Use a 3-inch round pastry cutter to cut circles from the dough. (If desired, combine scraps, roll out, and cut again.)
• In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef.
• Stir in onions, cumin, chili powder, salt, green chiles, and pimento peppers. Saute 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in tomato paste, followed by the cheese. Remove from heat.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture into the center of each pie crust circle.
• Fold dough over and use a fork to seal the dough all along the curved edge.
• Arrange in a single layer, not touching, on prepared baking sheet. Brush empanadas with egg wash.
• Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
• Allow to cool slightly before serving with HERDEZ™ Traditional Guacamole. Enjoy!

ARGENTINEAN-INSPIRED BEEF MINI EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Prepare filling: Cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large, nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until vegetables are tender and beef is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Add olives, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in chopped eggs.
• Scrape mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, 1 to 2 hours; this ensures the dough will not be soggy when the empanadas are baked.
• Prepare dough: Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Whisk cold water, egg, and vinegar together in a small bowl. Pour into the dry ingredients and blend with a fork. Use your hands to finish blending the ingredients until they come together in a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut circles, rerolling the scraps as necessary. I got about 18 circles.
• Hold each circle in your hand and place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Gently fold the ends over the top and press to seal all the way around. Reserve extra filling for another use.
• Set empanadas on a baking sheet. Press around the sealed edges with a fork if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on the bottoms, about 18 minutes. Flip and bake until the other side is browned, about 5 more minutes.

CHEESE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Mixing by hand, combine 2 cups warm water, the shortening and salt in a medium bowl. Slowly add the flour, mixing quickly to avoid lumps. Knead until the ingredients are evenly combined. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then shape into small balls (about 3 ounces each).
• Using a hand tortilla press, place a piece of waxed paper on the bottom, center a dough ball on top and cover with another piece of waxed paper. Gently press down to flatten the ball into a thin circle (not too thin or it will crack). Alternatively, you can use a wooden board or large plate to press the dough.
• Remove the top paper and add 1 tablespoon of the cheese to the middle of the pressed dough. Carefully fold one edge of the circle over the cheese to the other edge, and press the edges together to close the empanada. Using a small bowl, place it over the empanada close to the edge and press down slightly to cut the edge and evenly seal it. Repeat with the remaining dough and cheese. Set the empanadas on a large platter and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, add enough vegetable oil to fill the pan about a third of the way. Heat over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 350 degrees F. Gently remove the wax paper from each empanada and fry two to four at a time (depending on the pan size) until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

MAKE-AHEAD SOUTHWESTERN CHILI CHEESE EMPANADAS

Steps:

• 1. Combine cheese and chilies in a small bowl.
• 2. Unfold 1 pastry crust on floured surface. Roll into 13-inch circle. Cut dough into 16 rounds using a 3-inch pastry cutter, re-rolling scraps as necessary. Repeat with remaining crusts to make 32 circles.
• 3. Spoon 1 teaspoon cheese mixture in center of each dough round. Fold round in half, sealing edges with the tines of a fork.
• 4. Place empanadas on wax paper-lined baking sheets; freeze, uncovered, for 1 hour or until firm. Place in resealable plastic food storage bags. Freeze up to 2 months, if desired.
• 5. To complete recipe, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place frozen empanadas on ungreased baking sheet. Beat egg and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Brush on empanadas. Sprinkle with chili powder.
• 6. Bake 12-17 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to a wire rack to cool ... or better yet, serve them immediately with sour cream and salsa.