Empanadas - the sequel!

Last week I was on the hunt for recipes for Cinco de Mayo, and I ended up making turkey empanadas.  I think they are basically what Americans call hand pies.  Mmm, something a bit grubby about that name:)  I am picturing somewhat unspeakable things with small pies and hands and placing them into unspeakably lurid spots -  whoops sorry did I go off on a tangent there?  Back to the empanadas.  Along the way I found lots of interesting Mexican recipes including one in Thomasina Miers' book Mexican Food Made Simple.  Now I have to say not only does this recipe sound simple, it sounds kind of weird!  I think we all deserve to know just how weird, so I have done the decent thing and made them for you, folks.  These ham and cheese empanadas may not sound very Mexican, but they are tasty little devils. Empanadas are eaten as street food in the big cities, so while you may not find this variety all over Mexico, you would definitely find regular versions on street stalls at festivities like this.  Thomasina declares that she bought this very sort in the city of Veracruz from an 80 year old lady so we can rest assured that yes indeed Mexicans do eat them (or maybe just gullible tourists?)

(Author Nativehome - public domain)     

ingredients:

3 tbs mayonnaise

1 tsp Dijon mustard - (I used my own home-made grain mustard)

1-2 green chillies finely diced

a splash of Tabasco sauce

salt and pepper to taste

200g Cheddar or tasty cheese, grated

150g ham, chopped

frozen puff pastry - 3 sheets, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to 200C

Grab a medium bowl, and mix the mayo and mustard together
Add in the chillies, Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste
Throw in the cheese and ham, and stir it all together
Cut out either 10 circles of 12cm diameter or you can just as easily cut out squares (Thomasina said to cut out 8 circles, but I found I needed more, and squares made more sense at that point)
Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling into the middle of the circles (or squares!)
Brush the beaten egg around the edges
Fold half the pastry over the filled bit
Press the edges down with a fork, or fold and twist into pleated little edges with your fingers
Brush them with the egg, and make a couple of tiny slits in the tops
Bake for 10 minutes
Turn the oven down to 180C and bake for a further 10 mins or till golden

I used a red and a green jalapeno cos we like it hot:)    

chopped ham (sunlight was streaming thru my kitchen window)  

ingredients all ready to mix  

cheese and ham going in 

mixed and ready to go into the empanadas 

cutting out the circles  

heaping on the filling  

brushing on the egg 

folding them over 

crimping the edges 

more crimping  

egg-washed and ready for baking 

this is what happened!

looking pretty tasty after all!

Okay so here is what I did wrong.  I used a crumbly cheddar cheese - too soft!  I figured it might be, so take my advice and use a firm cheddar.  Secondly, I did not slit the tops.  My bad!  They still taste damn fine.   Really salty and cheesy, with a slight chilli bite.  They are remarkably quick and easy to make, and really moreish.  I had to hide them from myself so there were some left for Mr P.  So who knows if they are authentically Mexican, but who cares?  Delicious wherever they come from:)

My Sunday Photo 10 May 2015

mural on the wall of a laneway in Toowoomba, a city on the range in southern Queensland.  

In My Kitchen May 2015

Mmm, was there much going on in my kitchen this past month?  Not a heck of a lot I fear.  I think the change of weather is getting to me, giving me sinus aches and sniffles.  Once again Brisbane has been in the thick of a weather event the last couple of days (what a funny expression these weather people use!).  Very sadly 5 people including a little boy were drowned in flood waters.  It was taking people 5 hours to commute home in the rain last night. (written last Saturday).  Thank goodness, both myself and Mr P. were home all day, and didn't have to brave the torrential rain, and the thunderstorm that went on for 5 hours or more.  I think the storm was separate to the low which caused the rain!  I was in my kitchen cooking up a Nigella nutella cheesecake instead.  And what could be nicer than that on such a terrible day?

not the best photo but you get the idea  

once again this year I grabbed a bottle of this special oil - expensive but worth it:)  

some local honey I bought at an olive farm festival  

couldn't resist this cute little grinder even though I make my own extract.  
This brand actually comes from the Queen factory up the road from our place!

now who can resist real Canadian maple syrup?  Not I said the fly!:)  

I adore olive salt!

I read about this on a blog recently; yep pretty darn delish!  

not really in my kitchen but I had to add this in.  A commemorative red poppy dish from NZ for Anzac Day.  

olive oil from the local olive farm festival  

a bucket of chillies from our neighbour across the road; I just slung them into the freezer for later use! 

It was an emotional month what with the Anzac Day ceremonies, the execution of the Bali Nine duo, people drowning in the stormwaters (yes, I know technically that was in May) and a bit of sinus-y bother for me.  At least this month has started off really well - with a new princess!  She is so pretty, don't you think?  And a visit next week from some of our northerly relatives will brighten up the month too.  Thanks Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting this monthly get-together of food bloggers from all over the world.  And join in everybody, by sharing your kitchen goodies with the rest of us:).

Cinco de Mayo - and empanadas with turkey filling

The closest Mr P. and I have come to Mexico was travelling on the trolley car from San Diego to the border at Tijuana. It was amazing looking up at the hilltops to see the U.S. border patrol officers with big rifles at the ready!

U.S.A. on the left; Mexico on the right (image public domain) 

Years ago when we lived down the Gold Coast, one of our fave restaurants was the Mexican Gardens, serving good old Tex-Mex food.  Real Mexican food was and is pretty hard to come by around here, but Spanish food seems to be right on the money these days.  There seems to be a bit of a love affair raging with things Mexican also, including Day of the Dead festivities in November.  I noticed that our local Mexican is celebrating Cinco de Mayo this week.  It just means 5th of May in Spanish, and commemorates a short-lived Mexican army victory over the French in May 1862. Many people get confused thinking it is the Mexican Day of Independence (as did I), but that comes along in September.  It seems that only the state of Puebla in Mexico (where the battle was won) celebrates it, along with a whole heap of folks in the USA.  Maybe you could call it a Tex-Mex celebration?   I was wondering what I could cook in honour of Cinco de Mayo, and I found a recipe for empanadas - those baked or fried little pastries filled with whatever you fancy really. This recipe calls for beef mince but as I only had turkey mince in the freezer, and as turkey is very popular in Mexico according to the president of the National Turkey Federation!, I grabbed that and went ahead. I really like cooking with turkey mince as it is lean, and cooks quickly, and tastes like a beefy chicken or a chicken-y beef.  I think it is perfect as an empanada filling!  I based my empanadas on a recipe here, but added a few little extras to give it a bit more oomph, like some chilli and Tabasco for that Mexican feel.

ingredients:

Filling:

1 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion finely chopped (about a cup)
450g turkey mince (or beef)
1/2 tsp cummin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp paprika
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of ground cloves (I only had whole cloves so I bashed a couple up in a mortar and pestle)
pinch of sea salt
about 10-12 twists of black pepper
1/2 tsp Dutch cocoa
a few drops of Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano
a pinch of dried chilli flakes
1/3 cup sultanas
3 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
15 pitted black olives, chopped coarsely
milk or melted butter to brush the tops

Pastry:

450g plain flour (3 cups)
100g chilled butter, diced
1 tsp sea salt
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
5 tbs chilled water (I had to use 8 tbs water as my flour was really dry)


Method:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or frying pan
Add the onion and cook for a few minutes till it softens, stirring often
Throw in the mince and keep stirring for about 5 minutes till it is cooked through
Add the cummin, cinnamon, paprika, nutmeg and cloves and stir into the mix
Then add the salt, pepper, cocoa, Tabasco, oregano and chilli and stir in
Add the sultanas to the mince mixture
Stir it for a couple of minutes till well combined
Take it off the heat
Tip it into a bowl and place into the fridge for 30 minutes to cool while you make the pastry

Place flour, salt and butter into your food processor and whizz till it looks like fine breadcrumbs
Add the egg yolk and water and blitz again till it just starts to come together in clumps
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes till smooth
Cover it with cling wrap and place in fridge for 20 minutes to rest

Pre-heat the oven to 200C
Grab 2 baking trays and line with baking paper
Roll out the pastry to about 3 mm thick
Cut out rounds of 12 cm diameter (I used a small mixing bowl) - you will end up with 15 discs
Throw the chopped boiled eggs into the cooled mince mixture and stir them in gently
Add salt and pepper to taste
Place a heaped tablespoon of the mince onto the centre of each disc
Add some of the chopped olives to the top of each
Wet the edges of the discs with a little water
Fold the pastry over the top of the filling
Press the edges together, making sure they are pinched and crimped securely
Place them on the trays and put in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes
Brush the empanadas with melted butter or milk
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden

firstly, boil your eggs 

fry up the onions 

add the mince and spices

add the sultanas 

mince mixture cooled and ready for rolling

flour, salt and butter go into the food processor  

in goes the lightly beaten egg yolk

and the chilled water  

zapping in the processor 

a smooth dough after a little bit of kneading 

rolling out to 3mm thick 

cutting out 12 cm diameter discs

you should end up with 15 discs  

chopping up the boiled eggs

 eggs go into the mince mixture 

spooning the mince onto the discs

wetting the edges

pinching the edges together 

all ready for baking 

and baked! 

They really are moreish, as a snack with drinks or even as part of a main meal, perhaps with salad and guacamole.  Happy Cinco de Mayo folks!

My Sunday Photo 3 May 2015