No tags yet.
Baked Empanadas
The "empanadas" are very popular in South America, however their story starts in the "old continent". This "pockets" are said to be originally from Galicia, Spain and Portugal. The name comes from the verb "empanar", which means "to coat" with bread.
In South America, depending on the country or region, the dough, fillings and cooking method vary consistently. For example, the traditional Venezuelan empana (where I am from) is made out of the same cornmeal used for the arepas and are filled with almost everything you can name. In Argentina, the dough for the empanada is traditionally made with wheat flour and stuffed with a ground beef stew made with olives, capers, raisins and hard boiled eggs.
Back in the day you had to make the dough, let it sit for hours (in some cases), and the fry or bake them. Nowadays making empanadas is a simple as buying the frozen dough discs and filling them the way you want them.
I will soon make my Venezuelan empanadas, but on a lazy day I love the practicality of opening the pre-made dough and baking a delicios and "not so bad" dinner.
What do you need?
10 Goya Pastry Dough for Empandada
1 Pack baby spinach
1 Egg
1 Tomato
3 Basil leaves
1/2 Cup ricotta cheese
1/3 Cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. Marinara sauce
1/2 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 Tsp. Garlic (crushed)
Salt and pepper
What to do?
We are making two stuffings
Defrost the party dough an hour before making the emapanadas
Pre-heat the oven at 400 F degrees
Cover a baking pan with parchment paper
Cut the tomatoes and the basil in small pieces and set aside
In a non-stick pan melt the butter and saute the spinach for about 4 minutes and add salt and pepper to your liking. After the spinach are cooked add the garlic and let cook for another minute and set aside.
In a bowl, mix all the cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Separate the mix and two parts, I did 1/3 and 2/3.
Transfer 1/3 of the cheese mix and mix in the tomatoes, the basil and the marinara sauce to make the tomato-basil stuffing
Add the cooled spinach to the second part of the cheese and mix well
To stuff the empanadas, place a spoonful of the filling on the middle of each empanada disc
To seal the empanadas, fold the disc and seal the edges by pressing the dough with a fork
Beat the egg
Place the empanadas on the tray and brush them with egg wash
Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown
Voila!
Tips, variations & more:
Be creative with the fillings, use scrambled eggs for a breakfast empanada
If you stuff the empanadas with meats, serve them with guacamole or chimichurri on the side
