A friend of mine asked recently if I had a good Empanada recipe, this recipe is now my good recipe. Full of vibrant flavors, a little bit of heat and comforting potatoes, I can’t help but look forward to the next time this comes up on the menu!

Chorizo and Rainbow Potato Empanadas

Tips to get you started:

·        Both the dough and the filling require time to cool off / chill under refrigeration before you fill and seal the empanadas, so plan accordingly! The dough needs at least one hour in the refrigerator, but it can chill for up to two days before use.

·        The empanadas can be frozen and baked later, or baked empanadas may be reheated easily in the oven, making this a good recipe for meal prepping with leftovers.

·        Other brands of chorizo may be used in this recipe. I chose Hempler’s for its texture and fat content level. Soy-rizo may be substituted for a vegetarian version.

·        Yellow, red or Peruvian blue potatoes are suitable for this recipe, in place of the rainbow assortment if they are hard to find.

Prep time: 40-60 minutes, plus 1-hour inactive time for the dough to chill.

Cook time: 30 minutes to cook the filling on the stove plus 20-40 minutes baking time.

Serves: 9-12 individual hand pies

Ingredients:

For the dough:

3 Large organic pasture raised eggs divided: 2 for the dough, 1 for the egg wash

1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons ice water, divided: 1/3 cup for the dough, 2 Tablespoons for the egg wash

1 Tablespoon white vinegar

1 Teaspoon coarse kosher salt

½ Cup Kerrygold salted butter very cold but not frozen, cubed

2 ½ Cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling surface

For the filling:

1/2 Red bell pepper, diced

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1/2 Jalapeno, seeded, veins removed, diced

1 Cups yellow onion, diced

½ Teaspoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed

8 Oz Hempler’s brand ground pork chorizo (or my chorizo recipe! https://www.theopenbookcook.com/blog/homemade-chorizohttps/wwwtheopenbookcookcom/blog-page-url/new-post-title )

8 Oz multicolored potatoes (red, yellow, and Peruvian blue), cut into ¼- ½ inch pieces of roughly equal size to ensure even cooking

1/4 Teaspoon dried oregano

¼ Teaspoon coarse kosher salt

 

Part one: Place flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor and blend in butter with a few quick pulses or until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size or smaller) butter lumps. Turn the butter and flour mixture out into a medium mixing bowl.

Part two: Beat together 2 eggs, 1/3 cup of water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated (Mixture will look shaggy).

Part three: Using your hands and keeping the dough in the mixing bowl, Gather the dough together, then knead gently with heel of your hand a few times, just enough to bring dough together. If the dough feels a bit too sticky, adding a bit of flour as you knead is helpful. When it is kneaded, form the dough into a flat-topped rectangle, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Part four: While the dough rests and chills, prepare your filling. In a large pot, brown your chorizo over medium high heat. Remove the chorizo to a paper lined plate using a slotted spoon. Do not wipe out the pan. To the pan you used for the chorizo, add your onions, and bell pepper and sweat them for about 2 minutes. Then add your garlic, lemon juice, oregano, jalapeno, and potatoes. Cook this mixture on medium to low heat for about 10 more minutes (if the mixture is dry, adding up to ¼ cup of water will create enough steam to cook the potatoes). The vegetables are ready when you poke the potatoes with a fork and the fork meets resistance about halfway through, the potatoes will finish cooking during baking.

Part five: Add the cooked vegetables to the cooling chorizo. Stir the mixture occasionally to help cool the mixture more quickly and evenly. Allow the mixture to cool to about room temperature so that it will not melt the butter in your dough when you fill the empanadas.

Part six: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove the dough from refrigeration and allow it to warm up for about 10 minutes. Unwrap the dough and place it on a floured surface for rolling. Flour the top of the dough and roll it out until the dough is about ¼ inch thick all over. Use a cutting template (I use a bowl about 6 inches across) placing the template as close together on the previous edge to utilize the most surface area without wasting dough, to evenly cut the dough into approximately 12 (or more) even discs, about 6 inches around. I have found that I can smush the excess dough back together and roll it one more time to get the most empanadas possible, but then any further rolling yields tough dough.

Part seven: Place the cut dough onto an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer. Scoop about ¼ cup of the potato and chorizo filling and place it in the just to the left or right of center of each dough disc. Then fold the top of the disc over the top of the filling and down to meet the bottom edge, pull the top edge back just slightly to offset the edges. Using two hands, pinch and twist the edges of the dough together in a braid type pattern to fully seal the filling into the dough. Repeat this process until you run out of dough or filling, placing each empanada about ½ inch apart on the cookie sheet for baking.

Part eight: Mix one egg and about ¼ cup water in a small bowl, whisk well to combine. Then brush a small amount of this egg wash over the top of each empanada. Transfer the pan full of empanadas to the preheated oven and bake 25-40 minutes or until the exterior is a just starting to gain a mahogany brown color.

Serving suggestion: I enjoyed these on their own, however a light cucumber salad on the side would provide a nice counterpoint to the spice and savory flavors of this empanada. They also pair nicely with a cilantro and garlic dipping sauce!

Tiny chefs at home? They can help:

·        Measure ingredients

·        Sift and roll the dough

Nutrition information:

Total Calories: 224 // Total Fat: 11 g // Cholesterol: 71 mg // Sodium: 321 mg // Total Carbohydrates: 24 g // Dietary Fiber: 2 g // Sugars: 1 g // Protein: 6 g

 The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.