I've been wanting to give these a go for a while...I effectively see them as Spanish Cornish Pasties, and they have one of the magic ingredients...chorizo! It's almost a cheating ingredient, as it adds loads of flavour to anything.
I think the main issue I had is that I was disturbed halfway through the cooking process, and as a result the dough got a little too dry. I found that when I was making it I really didn't need very much water to form the dough, however this may have been the issue later on. The end result was a dough that tore a little when I was shaping it...and this was exasperated with re-rolling the cut-offs, which then picked up more flour. Next time I'll incorporate more water into the dough, and also make sure I have a clean run!
Empanadas - Recipe
Ingredients - Filling
- 4 chicken thighs
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped/crushed
- 100g chorizo (I use the Waitrose tubs)
- ½tsp cumin seeds
- 50g raisins
- 1tbsp olive oil
Ingredients - Dough
- 150g unsalted butter
- 300g plain flour
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Beaten egg to glaze
2) Place the chicken thighs on a small tray, and bake in the oven for 45 minutes
3) While the chicken is cooking, make the dough;
4) Melt the butter, and allow to cool a bit (I do this is a microwave)
5) Put the flour in a large bowl
6) Add the butter and egg to the flour, and start mixing
7) While you are mixing, add 3-4tbsp of water (I only did 1, and I think this caused the problems!)
8) Knead until smooth, then wrap in clingfilm and put to one side
9) Put the olive oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat
10) Add the onion and cook for 10-12 minutes
11) Add in the garlic, chorizo, cumin seeds and raisins, then cook for 5 minutes longer
12) Remove from the heat
13) Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and shred the meat (remove skin and bone, if your thighs had them). Put the oven temperature up to 200'C
14) Mix the shredded chicken in with the rest of the filling, and allow to cool
Assembly
15) Roll the dough out to about 3mm thickness on a lightly floured surface.16) Cut discs about 12cm diameter (I used a container with the right diameter as a cutting tool). You should get about 10.
17) Place a tablespoon of filling in the middle of each one, then fold and seal, using water on the edges to get a good seal
18) Crimp the edges with a fork
Note - I found this a bit tricky, partly as my dough was tearing a bit. The best method I came up with was to have the disc in one hand, slightly folded, with the filling in the middle, and then use my other hand to press the edges closed. Once the edges were closed, then crimp with the fork, pressing the prongs in with your thumb.
19) Place on a baking tray
20) Brush with beaten egg
21) Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.