Middle Eastern Ground Turkey Empanadas Recipes

MEDITERRANEAN MEAT PIES (SFEEHA)

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and stir in the ground beef and ground lamb, chopped onion, pine nuts, cinnamon, and salt and black pepper. Cook and stir until the meat is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease.
• Stir in the lemon juice; taste and adjust the seasonings, and let the meat mixture cool.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet or line it with parchment paper.
• Roll out the thawed pastry sheets to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a sharp 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out at least 9 rounds per sheet. Lightly brush the inside edges with a little water, and place about 2 teaspoons of filling into the middle of each round. Fold the pastry round in half to cover the filling and seal the edges well. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough circles.
• Brush each pie with a little egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

MIDDLE EASTERN GROUND TURKEY EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Remove discos from freezer to defrost. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Brown ground turkey in skillet, drain fat.
• Add green onion, onion, red pepper, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until soft. Add salt, spices, tomato paste and water. If you have no tomato paste, you can use some tomato sauce. If you have no baharat, you can substitute with a small amount of clove, cardamom, coriander, and nutmeg (or leave it out if you prefer). When filling has been sufficiently mixed, remove from heat.
• Take a disco from the packaging and place it on a piece of wax paper. Put a tablespoon or two of filling on one side. (You can use refrigerated biscuit dough or frozen pie crust if you cannot find discos, but you may need to adjust baking time and temp.) Seal edges using fork tines to go around the edge on the top and bottom of empanada. Then set aside on plate in fridge. Repeat this with the rest of the discos until all filling is gone.
• Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and lay the empanadas on the sheet. Brush tops of empanadas with beaten egg, for gloss. Bake empanadas ten minutes or until golden brown. Then bake second batch same way.

LEFTOVER TURKEY EMPANADAS RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients and preheat oven to 400 F.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll each pastry round to about 12 inches. Cut out three 6-inch rounds, then roll the remaining scraps out to cut out 1 more 6-inch round. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet.
• In a small bowl, combine the turkey with the gravy and set aside.
• Combine the mashed potatoes with parsley in another small bowl.
• On each 6-inch round, mound about 1 1/2 tablespoons of mashed potatoes .
• Top with about 1 tablespoon of dressing, then about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the turkey mixture. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
• Cut a few slits in the top of each empanada and arrange on a parchment paper or silicone lined baking sheet.
• Wet the edges with water, fold over, and seal with the tines of a fork.
• Beat the egg white and water together and brush each empanada lightly with the mixture.
• Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes, or until nicely browned.
• Serve with cranberry sauce on the side.

GROUND BEEF KEBABS

Steps:

• Combine - In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Pro tip - We combine all the ingredients before processing to prevent overprocessing.
• Process - Transfer the mixture to the food processor and pulse no more than 8 to 10 times. Pro tip - processing in the food processor makes the mixture slightly stick by distributing the fat. This helps the meat and marinade hold together.
• Marinate - Transfer the meat back to the bow and leave to marinate for 15 minutes on the counter or up to overnight in the fridge. Pro tip - Alternatively, you can thread the meat on the skewers and leave in the fridge until ready to grill.
• Thread/shape kababs - shaping these can be tricky so pay attention.- Take about 1/3 cup amount of beef mixture and make a ball then shape it into a long sausage. - Thread the skewer through the sausage. - Now using your fingers press them around the meat as if you are making a fist pressing the meat to the skewer. - Be gentle not to break the sausage but firm enough so it adheres to the skewersPro tip - dipping your hands in water will make the meat less sticky. Gloves do not help much.
• Hot grill - Heat a grill or cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat. Brush the grill with cooking oil. Pro tip - The grill must be very hot but not smoking hot otherwise the meat will stick to the grill.
• Grill - Place the skewers on the grill and let cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Brush them with oil to keep them moist. The char marks can be controlled by raising and lowing the heat under the grill.Pro tip - do not try to move the kebabs for the first 3 minutes as they will be stuck to the grill. otherwise, you will break them. After 3 minutes they should release on their own.
• Serve immediately with rice or pita topped with tahini sauce or yogurt sauce and a side salad.

SPICED TURKEY EMPANADA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Sprinkle turkey with salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Cook turkey, breaking up with a spoon, until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, olives and jalapeños. Cover; reduce heat to low. Simmer until turkey is cooked through and tomatoes are soft, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Coat a large cookie sheet with cooking spray. Cut dough into 4 equal portions. Pull dough into 4 flat disks, each 8 inches in diameter. Top each round with 1/2 cup turkey filling. Fold dough in half and fold bottom edge over top. Press closed. Transfer to cookie sheet and coat empanadas with cooking spray. Bake until dough is firm and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with 1/2 cup baby carrots. Store empanadas in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

TURKEY AND BLACK BEAN EMPANADAS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine turkey, black beans, both cheeses, salsa, cilantro, and cumin. Mix well to combine.
• Unroll pie crusts onto a flat surface. Using 4-inch cutter, cut out 6 circles. Divide turkey mixture into equal portions and place each portion (in mounds) on top of the pie crusts. Fold over and pinch the edges together to seal. Using a fork, make hash marks on the edges of the empanadas to ensure they are sealed. Transfer empanadas to a large baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make small slits in the top of each empanada to allow steam to escape during cooking. Brush with egg wash and place into preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes, until crust is golden brown.