Empanadas

Empanada is a pastry stuffed with a meat filling. Sometimes its stuffed with strictly vegetarian items. Sometimes, people tend to be creative and stuff sweet fillings in them. Empanadas are another one of those treats that have different versions from different cultures. And in each culture, are even more versions depending on the region. There are a variety of versions of Empanadas in the Philippines. I learned 3 different versions of Empanadas from 3 different aunts who happen to be sisters. Unfortunately, there are certain techniques that I hadn't mastered from those versions. Therefore, I haven't attempted to make them on my own. I like to make them with my aunts. Mostly because its quality time spent with them. But I do miss those homemade Empanadas. Store bought empanadas just doesn't have that flavor that I look for.

Sometime last week, this recipe for Empanadas came up from my reader from What's Cookin' Chicago? So I gave this one a try and its seems to be fail-proof. It was pretty easy and quite tasty. I might, however, try to bake these next time. The recipe calls for frying them, which is the traditional Filipino way of making them. But I don't eat as much fried foods as I used to. The dough in this recipe was really flaky and yummy. I'm hoping it'll be the same when I bake them next time.

Filling
2 Tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lb. ground meat (turkey, pork, chicken, or beef)
1 medium russet potato, diced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt
pepper
3 hard boiled eggs

1) Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until softened.

2) Add ground meat. Cook until browned and no longer pink, making sure to break up large pieces.

3) Add potato and water. Continue to cook until potato has softened. Add peas and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and drain excess liquid. Cool while making the crust.

Crust
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
4 Tbsp. sugar
6 Tbsp. ice water
egg wash (1 egg yolk, whisked with 1 tsp. water)
oil for deep frying

1) In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt and sugar. Cut butter into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter or two knives. Make a well in the center and add ice water into the center. Mix with a fork until stiff.

2) Turn dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until flour is completely incorporated and the dough is smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

3) Divide dough into 20 pieces. Roll each piece of dough into a small ball on the palm of your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a flat circle. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the dough. Top with a wedge of hard boiled egg. Brush edge of dough with egg wash. Fold dough over filling and crimp edges to seal. Deep fry until golden brown. Serve hot.