Make savory empanadas at home Savory empadana recipes, page D7
Texas loves its empanadas. But when most of us walk into a panadería, we’re scooping up bags of pastries stuffed with pineapple, strawberry, sweet potato and other sugary fillings.
But mastering the savory empanadas popular throughout South America and the Caribbean can transform those handheld delights into a complete meal. And you don’t have to be a master baker to get delectable results.
This week we’re sharing recipes for an all-purpose empanada dough that can be baked or fried. We’ll then use that dough to make three distinct types of empanadas: a beefy version common in the Andes Mountains, a distinct blue cheese and caramelized onion variety found in Argentina and a chicken option that incorporates dried fruit popular in the Caribbean and many parts of South America.
And that all starts with the dough. Our recipe makes a flour- and butterbased dough that can be used for any type of empanada, sweet or savory, and will give good results whether you fry or bake the flavorful parcels. You can substitute lard or vegetable shortening for the butter as desired. Lard will give you a porky aroma, and the shortening will be more neutral-tasting than butter.
Our instructions ask you to roll the dough out with a rolling pin, which will yield the best results. But here’s a shortcut you may want to consider if you’re
making a large batch: Empanada dough is easy to flatten into perfect rounds with a tortilla press. Just cut the dough into 12 pieces and smash each one flat in a press lined with plastic.
Once the dough is prepared and left to chill in the refrigerator, it’s time to get your fillings ready — and there’s a lot of flexibility in that depending on your tastes. There are as many empanada variations throughout South America and the Caribbean as cooks who make them, so don’t hesitate to play with your favorite flavor combinations.
The key to keeping those fillings tightly packed inside the dough while baking or frying is making sure they’re well sealed. It takes an extra second of labor, but brushing the edges of the dough with water before folding the empanadas closed will help glue them shut. Crimping the edges with a fork will not only give the finished empanadas a decorative touch, but it will reinforce the seal as well.
Don’t skip either step if you want to avoid a mess in the oven or frying pan.