Empa-whos-a-what-now?
Whilst I obviously still need to work on my pastry-shaping skills, these unassuming brown domes held naught but tastiness inside!
I love food blogging events, I’ve participated in two so far and both have been marvellous. The last I took part in, Blogging By Mail, introduced me to the wonderful Brilynn, the blogger behind Jumbo Empanadas. As soon as I found out who I was sending my care package to, I eagerly went to the blog in question…and went ‘huh??‘.
Before I go any further, in defence of my ignorance, I’ll point out the fact that I am still new to the whole ‘expanding culinary boundaries‘ thing, and that Latin American food is something that is not bountiful here in Melbourne, Australia. So, whilst I understood the ‘jumbo’ part, I had to google to find out what the heck an empanada was!
Ahhh, wikipedia to the rescue! Essentially, it is just a stuffed pastry, not entirely unlike the Italian calzone. My research revealed that these are quite tasty looking treats that would serve well as preprepared snacks to be stored in the freezer/fridge, so I made a mental note that I would need to give them a try sometime.
Fast-forward a few months to today. I’ve been feeling very run down of late, and upon visiting the doctor yesterday, he advised that it might be a good idea to go in for some blood work and have my blood sugar, hormone levels etc tested to see if anything is misbehaving. His final comment was that I needed to make sure that my stomach was empty before I went in so that my blood sugar would be accurate. However, when I got home I realized that he hadn’t told me just how long I needed to fast, and since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, I had a quick bowl of cereal then started my fasting. This was at 6pm last night.
When I woke at 6am this morning, my tummy was making a little noise for some kind of substance, but I had a glass of water and tried to ignore it, knowing that I’d only need to go a few more hours, till the pathology lab opened at 8:30am. I got there at 8:35am…and there was so many people that I had to stand.
I didn’t get in to have my blood drawn till 10:30am. ARGGGH!
By the time I’d been vampirised and trudged home, I was grumpy, tired and absolutely famished. After not having eaten for over 17 hours, I knew I needed something simple and easy to digest, so I had a piece of toast with a little butter scraped over the top. That sated my stomach, but it didn’t satisfy my tastebuds. I sat down and flipped through my notebook, and saw the scribbled note about empanadas. My tastebuds and I conferred, agreed that it seemed a perfectly good idea, and set about searching for a recipe. Between this recipe and the one in my never before used, pocket-sized ’step-by-step Mexican cooking’ book, I thought I had a recipe that would do me quite well, and I set to work.
A wonderful hand-held meal, I’d planned on storing the rest to take to work as my lunch, but my family loves them so much that I don’t think there’ll be any left to pack!
The pastry is light and flaky, the filling spicy and sweet - between the two, this makes for a dangerously delicious dish 
If you’re looking for lunch ideas for work, I heartily recommend giving these a try, as they are tasty hot or cold!
Chorizo & Capsicum Empanadas
Ingredients for filling
1 1/2 chorizo sausages, chopped small
1 medium capsicum (bell pepper), deseeded and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp brown sugar
Ingredients for pastry
2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
Pinch of salt
80g butter, diced
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 beaten egg
1. Fry onion and capsicum till softened and onion is transparent, then add the chopped chorizo and fry till cooked. Throw in the peas and heat through, then add the tomato paste and brown sugar and mix till well combined. Add the egg, and salt and pepper to taste, then set aside to cool.
2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. Mix salt into flour, then rub in butter till mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add milk and mix through to make a soft dough.
3. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, and lightly knead till dough is smooth. Divide into 3 equal portions and roll each portion into even-sized squares. Rest pastry for about 15 minutes in the fridge.
4. Spread two of the squares with softened butter, then stack them on top of each other with the unbuttered square on top. Roll them out together to about 3mm in thickness.
5. Cut out circles about 15cm in diameter (you should get about 6-7), and divide the cooled filling evenly between them in a half-circle shape, making sure to keep about 2cm from the outer edge.
6. Brush the edges with the beaten egg, then fold in half and press the edges firmly together with a fork. Place on a prepared baking sheet and brush tops with the remaining egg.
7. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, or till slightly puffed and golden in colour. Unbaked empanadas can be frozen - to bake the frozen pastries, heat oven to 200 degrees C and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or till golden brown.
8. Serve with a green salad to make a full meal out of it, or just enjoy on its own as a light meal to satisfy both stomach and tastebuds
Technorati Tags: chorizo, mexican, spanish, empanadas, pies, pastry, recipes
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Comments
Lis Uhmm.. weren’t you suppose to go have your blood drawn weeks ago? I hope you are feeling better!!! Please keep us updated on how you are feeling, okay? =)
I had my very first empanada at that farmer’s market we love to go to. A small kiosk ran by a very nice latin couple had so many delectible offerings to choose from! I decided on their empanada because I’d never had them.. so flaky and sooooo good!! Their filling was made up of corn and chicken, but your filling of chorizo and peppers looks to die for! Yum!! Way to go, sweetie! 
Brilynn Hurrah!
I’m so glad you decided to make empanadas, and I couldn’t agree more, they make a great lunch, just pop a couple in the oven and you’re good to go. There’s also a ton of variations for what to put inside and what sauce to dip them in. I like sweet thai chili sauce or my mom’s relish, quite a contrast, I know. I don’t actually like relish other than the stuff my mom makes and I eat it with everything, probably with some things I shouldn’t. But I’m getting off track, I’m glad you’ve tried and enjoyed empanadas.
Ellie Kat - I get the results today, so fingers crossed And that’s the same thing I love about food blogs, not only sharing this passion with others, but discovering new and exciting things through them!
Lis - I was, but being at the arse end of my uni semester and crazy busy, I didn’t go… Stupid, I know, but I hate needles (this comes from a girl with 4 tatts!). Anyway, the deed is done and I get my results today, so fingers crossed that it’s nothing major I love your first experience with empanadas, how much more genuine could you get? And I think chicken and corn sounds like a lovely filling to try next time!
Brilynn - Hehehe, I’m glad I got you as a partner which led me to discover these I’ll be making more on the weekend, so I’ll be looking at combinations for fillings and sauces! Do you have a recipe for your mom’s relish?
barbara Ellie - I do hope your tests are okay. Your empanadas look really tasty. I remember eating them in Spain but have never tried to make them.
peabody Now see, that is how I feel when I read some of the blogs from England and Australia….some of the ingredients throw me for a loop. But it is fun to learn.
Nice empanadas.
Cin You were famished and yet managed to make pastry and let it rest for 15 minutes in the fridge? wow, that’s discipline!
Ellie Emily - So do I, I get the test results tomorrow so fingers crossed
Barbara - Thanks You should give them a try - I’ve made another batch since I made this first one and already they are almost all gone!
Peabody - Hehehe, it’s bizarre isn’t it? I’m sure we’ve got most of the same things (except tinned goose fat, those crazy English!) but just call it different names
Cin - LOL! My mother alternates between calling it a mental disease and obsession, depending on how much flour I’ve coated the kitchen in 
Ari (Baking and Books) Visiting your site is dangerous! These look so good… I already had dinner but I’m hungry again!
Ellie Ari - Aww shucks hon! Glad you like these! I think they’re a fantastic thing to make and chuck into the fridge or freezer as they make for such a nifty snack or meal
Paz Your empanadas look great! Perfect and yummy!
I trust your test resuts come out well.
Paz
Ellie Paz - Thanks hon I’m still waiting on the results, but will find out in a few hours, so hopefully all goes well!
Bron - I’m not a sausage fan, but I adore chorizo sausages Glad you like them, and thanks for the wishes!
ilingc hi ellie,
this sounds easy and chorizo.. mmm!
would be great for a quick dinner too. will have to give this a go next week.
Ellie Iling - The filling is easy, but the pastry is an absolute pain in the ARSE, so the next time I try these I’ll be looking for another pastry recipe. One warning, the pastry doesn’t re-roll well, so try and roll it out big enough so you can cut out your circles in one hit
Only Me I love cooking but I’ve not been able to master the art of pastry making. It always seems much easier to buy frozen from the supermarket. But I’ll try your technique.
Much appreciated!
Oh you poor thing! I hope nothing is wrong. These empanadas look great! I love that you bake them. There are a lot of culinary stuff that I need to learn too, that’s what I enjoy about everyone’s blogs!
Take care!