LUCIA YBARA
It is a traditional dish of our gastronomy. Stuffed dough, generally with meat and vegetables, but also accepts fish and even fried foods and sweets that we usually “encapsulate” to cook in the oven. It’s the empanada, one of the simplest, richest and most satisfying dishes you can make at home.
Empanadas are such a versatile dish that you can make them in no time and with very little effort, even if you know nothing about cooking. And for the filling, you can use almost anything you can think of. You just have to dare. Of course, there are iconic combinations that have been with us for years and years, such as tuna empanadas, ratatouille or meat empanadas.
To celebrate World Empanada Day this April 8th, which you see, we’re bringing you 8 recipes to unleash the chef in you and get ideas for your next take on this iconic dish and more. We started with the Meat and Spinach Empanada and went on to the Date and Bacon Empanada, Open Meat and Pepper Empanada, Sardine Empanada, Cod Empanada, Ratatouille and Baby Octopus Empanada… and finished with his mini. option’: Baked Dumplings and Curried Meat Dumplings.
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Meat and spinach pie
INGREDIENTS:
2 sheets of puff pastry
550 g of mixed minced meat
400 g of spinach
Extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
50 g of pine nuts
50 g of raisins
3 eggs
150 ml cooking cream
pepper
slab
PREPARATION
1- Season the minced meat with salt and pepper.
2- Chop the garlic cloves and fry them, add the spinach and
also fry. Add pine nuts and raisins and keep on fire for a few minutes.
3-Mix the meat and spinach
4-Put the puff pastry in the mold, adjust it and add the mass.
5- Beat the egg, add the cream. Mix well and pour over the meat and spinach. Cover with the other sheet of puff pastry. Press to set and close the empanada.
6- Beat the third egg and paint the surface of the puff pastry.
7-Bake at 180ºC for 25 minutes.
Date and Bacon Pie
Our date and bacon empanada has a combination of flavors that not only amazes. You won’t be able to stop eating once you take the first bite.
INGREDIENTS:
250 g of dates
1 egg
1 puff pastry
150 g Cheese with a layer
150 g of bacon
PREPARATION
1-Roll the base of the puff pastry with a rolling pin to make 2 equal rectangles.
2-Put a layer of bacon on one of the rectangles, a layer of sliced cheese, and a finely chopped date. Place the other rectangle of puff pastry on top and press the sides together.
3- Heat the oven to 200 degrees. Pierce the puff pastry layer. Separate the yolk from the egg. Lightly stir and paint the surface of the puff pastry with it. Bake for 20-30 minutes.
“Open” empanada with meat and peppers
INGREDIENTS:
250 grams of meat
2 sausages
1 red bell pepper
1/2 spring onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup of tomato sauce
olive oil salt
Sal:
Pepper
For the mass
250 grams of flour
1 tablespoon of baker’s yeast
100 ml of water
olive oil
slab
PREPARATION
For the masses.
Put the flour in a bowl, make an egg in the center and add the yeast. a pinch of salt, lukewarm water and a drizzle of olive oil. Mix and beat until it has an elastic texture. Cover with a clean cloth and let rest for about 1 hour until risen and doubled (or almost) in size.
For filling:
1- Tail meat and sausages (cut without skin), well seasoned. Add the tomato sauce. Cook for a few minutes.
2-Laminate and fry the garlic until they start to brown. Add the onion cut into the julienne and the red pepper cut into strips or as desired. Season and poaching.
3- We stretch the dough with a rolling pin, folding one over the other to create thick edges. Spread the meat on top, then another layer with pepper and onion
4- Bake at 180ºC for 2O / 25 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
2-Empanada masses
500 g of salted cod
1 onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 green pepper
2 tomatoes
4 strands of saffron
½ tablespoon sweet paprika
Extra virgin olive oil
Sal:
PREPARATION
1- Juliana cut the onion and pepper. Peel the tomato and cut it into small pieces.
2-Add the EVOO to the pan and cook everything on low heat for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add sweet paprika and pre-moistened saffron threads to a teaspoon of water.
3-Add the chopped cod, mix and cook for 5 minutes. Let the filling cool.
4-Heat the oven to 180°. Meanwhile, put one of the masses in the mold as a base, add the filling and cover with the other dough. Close the ends and paint with egg.
5- Bake for 35/40 minutes.
This sardine empanada is so easy to make, so quick, and so delicious that it will become one of your most repeat dishes.
INGREDIENTS:
1 onion
1 zucchini
1/2 red pepper
1 eggplant
100 ml Extra virgin olive oil
3 DL tomatoes
200 g of canned sardines
250 g of pizza dough
1 egg
Sal:
coarse salt
Pepper
PREPARATION
1-Heat the oven to 200ºC. Peel and cut the onion, zucchini, red pepper and eggplant. Heat a wide frying pan with olive oil, add onion and pepper, stew.
2-Add zucchini and eggplant to the pan, fry for a few minutes and sprinkle with chopped tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat for fifteen minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3-Open the sardines well and drain. Spread the pizza dough on a flat surface, arrange the ratatouille in the center of the dough, put the sardines on top and close it by folding the edges of the bread dough, pressing the edges firmly so that the filling does not come out. Place on a baking tray, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for about fifteen minutes. Remove from oven, let cool and serve.
Ratatouille and baby octopus empanada
Eye Our Octopus Empanada recipe is for everyone and it’s addictive. In addition, it is very different from the more traditional ones, but just as rich. Or more.
INGREDIENTS:
400 g Pulpitos
1 onion
1 leek
1 red pepper
1 dl extra virgin olive oil
1 dl of white wine
2 dl tomatoes
250 g puff pastry
1 egg
Sal:
Pepper
PREPARATION
1- Take the baby octopuses out of their packaging the night before and arrange them in a strainer so that they release all the frozen water. Cut and store in the refrigerator. Peel and cut the onion, leek and pepper.
2-Heat a wide pan with olive oil, steam the vegetables and add the octopus, fry and sprinkle with wine and tomato sauce. Cook until the liquid is used up, season with salt and pepper and leave to cool completely.
3-Heat the oven to 200ºC. Roll the puff pastry and divide it into two parts, fill the puff pastry with the fried octopus, and cover it with the other, squeezing the edges well so that nothing comes out. Arrange on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool and serve.
Empanadas are the little sisters of the big empanada, but the concept is the same, but mini and personal. Check out our baked dumplings and get ready to make your own.
INGREDIENTS:
400 g of ground beef
1 dl of water
Sal:
60 g of butter
1/2 red onion
1 sweet onion
1 green pepper
Olive oil
1 teaspoon of chili
500 g wheat flour
2 tablespoons of tomato sauce
PREPARATION
1-In a bowl, mix 500 g of wheat flour with 10 g of salt, 60 g of melted butter and 2.5 dl of water. Mix first with a spoon, then knead with your hands for about 4 minutes. Cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest for 1 hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of less than 1 mm and cut into circles of the desired size (about 15 cm).
2-Heat the oven. While the dough is resting, peel and chop the onion and green pepper. Heat the pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the white onion and green pepper. Keep on fire until the onion is transparent, then add the minced meat. Increase the heat and keep it until the meat is cooked well. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and 1 teaspoon of chili. Mix everything well.
3-Put a tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of each circle of dough. Paint the outside of the dough with water and place another round of dough. Flatten the entire perimeter of the dough with the tips of a fork to seal the dough well. Place in the preheated oven until the dough starts to brown (about 10 minutes).
Curry Beef Dumplings
Another version of the empanada, but also individual, although you can make it in the format that you like best. Great to share or for yourself. You choose. But you should know that these Curry Beef Dumplings are just plain good.
INGREDIENTS:
2 garlic sprouts
1/2 red pepper
1/2 onion
Extra virgin olive oil
Sal:
Pepper
1 tablespoon of curry
1 dl of coconut milk
Empanada dough (or empanadas)
1 egg
1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
200 g of minced pork
PREPARATION
1-Wash and chop the pepper. Peel and cut the garlic sprouts and onion. Fry the onion in hot oil. Add the rest of the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook until tender. Add the meat and fry.
2. Add curry, fry and cover with coconut milk. Cook over medium heat until the sauce reduces.
3-Place the minced meat mixture on the empanada dough in the desired size, large or individual (or traditional empanada dough) and close. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sesame
4-Bake at 180º for ten minutes.
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