Chicken & Corn Empanadas

More Super Bowl empanadas!

I enjoy trying new recipes… BUT… Oh my, it is going to be hard not to make these for our Super Bowl feast again next year. They were really good. Slightly spicy and super-flavorful.

I made the dough the day before completing the dish but made the fillings for both types of empanadas on Super Bowl Sunday morning. Because the fillings would easily keep at least a day in the refrigerator, I think I would make the fillings in advance as well. In retrospect, rolling the dough, chilling the empanadas and then baking them seems like just enough work for the big day. 🙂

This recipe was adapted from Guillermo Pernot, via Martha Stewart Living. I used frozen corn kernels and red wine instead of white. I also made homemade whole wheat empanada dough adapted from Carla’s Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes from Around the World by Carla Hall with Genevieve Ko. Great!

I’m bringing these to share at Angie’s Fiesta Friday #106 co-hosted by Steffi @Ginger and Bread and Andrea @Cooking with a Wallflower. Enjoy!

For the Whole Wheat Cream Cheese Dough:

Yield: 18 5-inch disks

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 1 /2 tsp coarse salt
• 18 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 12 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch dice

1. Make the Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flours and salt. With your hands, toss the butter and cream cheese in the flour mixture until each piece is lightly coated.
2. With the paddle attachment, beat on low-speed until the dough comes together and forms a loose mass around the paddle.
3. On two large pieces of plastic wrap, divide the dough in half and then gently pat each half of the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle.
4. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Note: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 3 months.)
5. To Finish: On a floured work surface (or between layers of plastic wrap), roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick.
   Using a 5-inch round cutter (I placed the plastic-wrapped dough over a cutting board and cut the rounds using a bowl and sharp knife.), cut 18 rounds out of the dough, reshaping and re-rolling out the dough as necessary.

For the Chicken and Corn Filling:

Yield: about 18 empanadas

• Whole Wheat Cream Cheese Empanada Dough, chilled (recipe above)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped white onion
• 1 tsp red-pepper flakes
• 1 tsp oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 5 ears small corn, kernels removed or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels (thawed)
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat (about 5 thighs), cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons dry white or red wine
• coarse salt
• 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, red-pepper flakes, and oregano.
3. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Season with salt. Cook for 1 minute.
4. Add red and green peppers and corn. Cook until the peppers soften and any liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
5. To the same pan, add the chicken, wine, and salt. Cook until chicken is just cooked through and almost all liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
6. Refrigerate filling until chilled; stir in cheese. The filling may be prepared and refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days.
7. Mound 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling on half of the round and fold the other side over to form a half-moon. Press to seal the dough and pinch at intervals to make pleats. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling. (Alternatively, start at one end, pinch one corner between your thumb and forefinger and fold it over the rim. Pinch the dough next to the fold and fold again. Continue pinching and folding to create a decorative rope rim.) 
8. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to baking but no longer than 1 day.
9. Place the empanadas on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. 
10. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One Year Ago:

• Black Bean Empanadas

Two Years Ago:

• Super Bowl Tacos: Tacos of Creamy Braised Chard, Potatoes, & Poblanos

Three Years Ago:

• Mushroom, Red Onion, & Bacon Quesadillas
• Guacamole

Pancetta, White Bean, & Queso Fresco Empanadas

My son and I are huge empanada fans. (Now we’ve roped my husband in too!) So, last year we started the tradition of eating empanadas on Super Bowl Sunday. (With our guacamole, of course!) After seeing this version at Fiesta Friday, I knew I would have to choose this filling for one of our empanadas this year. They looked amazing.

The filling recipe was adapted from Bourbon and Brown Sugar Blog. I used a large shallot instead of the onion, added garlic to the filling, and chilled the empanadas prior to baking. I also made homemade whole wheat empanada dough and modified the baking temperature and time. The dough recipe was adapted from Carla’s Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes from Around the World by Carla Hall with Genevieve Ko. I cut the dough into 5-inch rounds as they were our main course; 3-inch rounds would be a perfect appetizer size. Yummy!

For the Whole Wheat Cream Cheese Dough:

Yield: 18 5-inch disks

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1 1 /2 tsp coarse salt
• 18 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 12 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch dice

1. Make the Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flours and salt. With your hands, toss the butter and cream cheese in the flour mixture until each piece is lightly coated.
2. With the paddle attachment, beat on low-speed until the dough comes together and forms a loose mass around the paddle.
3. On two large pieces of plastic wrap, divide the dough in half and then gently pat each half of the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle.
4. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Note: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 3 months.)
5. To Finish: On a floured work surface (or between layers of plastic wrap), roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick.
6. Using a 5-inch round cutter (I placed the plastic-wrapped dough over a cutting board and cut the rounds using a bowl and sharp knife.), cut 18 rounds out of the dough, reshaping and re-rolling out the dough as necessary.

For the Pancetta, White Bean, & Queso Fresco Filling:

Yield: 18 empanadas

• 8 ounces diced pancetta
• ½ jalapeno, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 1 large shallot or ¼ onion, finely diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14-ounce can small white beans
• 8 ounces crumbled queso fresco
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 18 5-inch disks of empanada dough (recipe above)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Fry pancetta until it begins to crisp up.
3. Using the pancetta drippings left in the bottom of the pan, sauté the jalapenos, red peppers and onions on low heat about 10-12 minutes (the onions should be translucent).
4. Add the white beans, and take off the heat.
5. Add the crumbled queso fresco.
6. Mound 2 tablespoons of the filling on half of the round and fold the other side over to form a half-moon. Press to seal the dough and pinch at intervals to make pleats. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling. (Alternatively, start at one end, pinch one corner between your thumb and forefinger and fold it over the rim. Pinch the dough next to the fold and fold again. Continue pinching and folding to create a decorative rope rim.)
7. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes prior to baking but no longer than 1 day.
8. Place the empanadas on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One Year Ago:

• “Green” Empanadas

Two Years Ago:

• Steakhouse Creamed Spinach vs. “Lighter” Creamed Kale
• Rutabaga Oven Fries

Three Years Ago:

• Roasted Acorn Squash
• Creamy Baked Acorn Squash

Black Bean Empanadas

I was originally going to combine my two vegetarian empanada posts… but that would be such a disservice to their fabulously different flavors!

My husband had to work on Super Bowl Sunday this year. 😦 We don’t usually go to a party, but my husband, kids, and I really enjoy celebrating the big game with a festive menu. I decided that I wanted to be a superstar spouse and deliver a special meal to him at work- just so that he wouldn’t miss everything…

My daughter’s special pig “Honey Pie” – another football fan in our house!

If you read my last post, you know how obsessed I am with empanadas- and so you know what a super-special Super Bowl meal this really was!! These black bean empanadas were the second vegetarian empanada version we had for the big game. This filling had a really creamy texture and a spicy bite that held up well to the dough. Great.

Like my “green” empanadas, these empanadas also star Carla Hall’s famous (famous to me, at least!) Cream Cheese Dough. When Carla was on Top Chef, she seemed to be always cranking out both savory and sweet fillings with this wonderful, tender dough. I am SO happy to have my hands on the recipe!! 🙂 I modified her perfect recipe to incorporate whole wheat flour- pretty daring, I know- but it really worked out. 🙂

I cut the dough into 5-inch circles, and we ate the empanadas as a main course with refried beans and brown Basmati rice. (We had chips and guacamole first, of course!!) If the dough is cut into 3-inch rounds, they would be the perfect size for an appetizer. This recipe was adapted from Carla’s Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes from Around the World by Carla Hall with Genevieve Ko. I also adapted the baking time to use a convection oven.

I am bringing these tasty morsels to share with my friends at Fiesta Friday #54 over at The Novice Gardener. I am co-hosting this week with my friend Sonal of Simply Vegetarian 777. So exciting!! Join the fun- it is a great way to meet other bloggers and increase the exposure of your own blog! Click here for the guidelines to join the party.

Yield: 9 (5-inch) empanadas

For the Whole Wheat Cream Cheese Dough:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 tsp coarse salt
• 9 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 6 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch dice

For the Black Bean Picadillo Filling:

• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 2/3 cup hot water
• 1 T canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp ground Mexican chiles, such as ancho
• 2 T tomato paste
• 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a blend
• 2 T chopped fresh cilantro

1. Make the Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flours and salt. With your hands, toss the butter and cream cheese in the flour mixture until each piece is lightly coated.
2. With the paddle attachment, beat on low-speed until the dough comes together and forms a loose mass around the paddle.
3. On a large piece of plastic wrap, gently pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Note: The dough can be refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 3 months.)
4. Make the Filling: In a small bowl, cover the raisins with the hot water. Let soak.
5. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion just starts to turn translucent, about 3 minutes.
6. Add the ground chiles and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.
7. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
8. Stir in the beans, corn, and raisins with their soaking liquid.
9. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
10. When cool, stir in the cheese and cilantro.
11. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
12. To Finish: On a floured work surface (or between layers of plastic wrap), roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 5-inch round cutter (I used a bowl), cut 9 rounds out of the dough, reshaping and re-rolling out the dough as necessary.
13. Mound 2 tablespoons of the filling on half of the round and fold the other side over to form a half-moon. Press to seal the dough and pinch at intervals to make pleats. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling. (Alternatively, start at one end, pinch one corner between your thumb and forefinger and fold it over the rim. Pinch the dough next to the fold and fold again. Continue pinching and folding to create a decorative rope rim.)
14. Arrange the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 20 minutes (on convection) or up to 30 minutes in a standard oven, until browned and heated through. Serve the empanadas warm or at room temperature.

One Year Ago:

• Super Bowl Tacos: Tacos of Creamy Braised Chard, Potatoes, & Poblanos
• Rick Bayless’ Classic Mexican Fried Beans with Onions & Garlic

Two Years Ago:

• Mushroom, Red Onion, & Bacon Quesadillas

“Green” Empanadas

I have such exciting news!! For the first time… I am co-hosting Fiesta Friday #54 at The Novice Gardener this week with (sincerely) my oldest blogosphere friend Sonal of Simply Vegetarian 777. Woo hoo! 🙂 In case you don’t already know- Fiesta Friday is a fabulous blogging potluck party. It is a wonderful way to share recipes (etc.!), network with other bloggers, and to make friends out there in the blogosphere. It’s such a friendly and supportive group- I look forward to our get together every week. 🙂 Sonal and I will be there this week to greet all of the guests!

I am bringing a special dish for this special occasion… vegetarian empanadas! I have been obsessed with empanadas for some time. When my husband and I lived in Chicago, we attended many potluck parties with his co-workers- many of whom were South American. We ate SUCH good food!! (I have absolutely NO memory of my contribution to these potlucks either… ) The two stand-out dishes were empanadas and tortilla espanola. mmmmm…. I have been saying that I really needed to make empanadas ever since. I don’t know what I was waiting for… (as that was long long ago- and this was my first attempt!)

So… I recently revisited my love for empanadas in New York City on my son’s birthday. We went to look at sofas (to sit on them- you know that you can’t buy a sofa if you have never sat on it!) on his actual birthday- it sounds terrible but I assure you that the rest of the day was full of much more fun events!! We also told him (bribed him…) that we hoped that the empanada truck would be near the Pottery Barn on the Upper West Side. When we arrived it could not have been better than if we had planned it- the empanada truck –and a grilled cheese truck for my daughter!- were parked RIGHT outside of the store. So lucky- what great fortune! TONS of varieties of empanadas too- absolutely delicious!!

I put empanadas back on the top of my “to do” list but searched for vegetarian versions (my preference). For my first filling, I adapted this wonderful recipe from Food and Wine, contributed by Mauricio Couly and Piero Incisa Della Rocchetta. The original recipe had a paprika dough for which I substituted a whole wheat cream cheese dough. I also modified the greens as well as the herbs and seasonings in the filling. The dough was adapted from Carla’s Comfort Foods: Favorite Dishes from Around the World. I incorporated whole wheat pastry flour. Easy, tender, and FABULOUS!!!

Please join us for Fiesta Friday #54 at The Novice Gardener this week!! Click here for the guidelines to join in the fun.

Yield: 9 (5-inch) empanadas

For the Whole Wheat Cream Cheese Dough:

• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 tsp coarse salt
• 9 T cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 6 oz cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch dice

For the Filling:

• 10 ounces spinach, stemmed (I used a combination of spinach, baby kale, and chard)
• 1/2 cup shelled fava beans (thawed if frozen)
• 1/4 pound trimmed green beans
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Make the Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flours and salt. With your hands, toss the butter and cream cheese in the flour mixture until each piece is lightly coated.
2. With the paddle attachment, beat on low speed until the dough comes together and forms a loose mass around the paddle.
3. On a large piece of plastic wrap, gently pat the dough into a 1-inch thick rectangle. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Note: The dough  can be refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 3 months.)
4. Make the Filling: In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the greens for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon or an Asian spider skimmer, transfer the greens to a colander. Drain.
5. Add the fava beans to the boiling water and cook until bright green, 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon or an Asian spider skimmer, transfer the fava beans to a plate.
6. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until tender, 4 minutes. Drain and finely chop the green beans.
7. Peel the tough outer skins from the fava beans.
8. Squeeze the excess water from the greens, then coarsely chop.
9. In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
10. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the greens, fava beans, green beans and peas and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes.
11. Stir in the cilantro and thyme and season with salt and pepper.
12. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
13. To Finish: On a floured work surface (or between layers of plastic wrap), roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 5-inch round cutter (I used a bowl), cut 9 rounds out of the dough, reshaping and re-rolling out the dough as necessary.
14. Mound 2 tablespoons of the vegetable filling on half of the round and fold the other side over to form a half-moon. Press to seal the dough and pinch at intervals to make pleats. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling.
15. Arrange the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 20 minutes (on convection) or up to 30 minutes in a standard oven, until browned and heated through. Serve the empanadas warm or at room temperature.

One Year Ago:

• Jose Garces’ One-Pot Arroz con Pollo

Two Years Ago:

• Guacamole
• Spicy Lentil Chili