pork empanadas

One of my friends is from Uruguay — which she pronounces without a “g” since she is Uruguayican and all. Right now, being Uruguayican is all the rage since the Uruguay national team is advancing to the knock out stage of the World Cup. I have gathered this from the many radio updates which transform my tiny little Uruguayican friend into a frenzied fanatic leaping from her chair and exclaiming her excitement in breathless Spanish. In fact, I have learned more Spanish in the three days in which Uruguay has had matches than I learned in three years of Spanish in high school. (Incidentally, my Spanish vocabulary is still limited to words like mano and gol.) Feeling inspired, I made empanadas in honor of Uruguay’s success.

Having never made empanadas before, I found myself frequently needing to improvise. For example, I forgot to add salt to the empanada dough. Fail. But, like an unexpected red card to Nicolas Lodeiro that puts you one man down on a free kick, I found a way to make the dough sufficiently flavorful with the additions of thyme and sage. In fact, after looking at the ingredient list, I found there were several uncalled for additions that I instantly benched in favor of some sleepers – such as parmesan cheese. Confident that I was putting together the winning combination, I made the necessary substitutions and adapted to the game.

Before I banana kicked the empanads (the people of empanada) in the face, I carefully sauteed their inards. Then came the empanada dough, this is the part of the game where my goalie wasn’t paying attention.  Read the aforementioned fail above. But I adapted. I stuffed the empanada shells and pressed the edges together, sealing them with a fork. Once assembled and ready to go, off they went to the oven where they baked until golden brown, which caused an uproarious celebration from the crowd Josh, who unfortunately ate so many there was not enough for my Uruguayican friend.

Pork Empanadas
Adapted from Everyday Food

Makes about 8 regular, 60 mini

Filling:
1 yukon gold potato, peeled and diced into 1/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound ground pork
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons fresh sage
4 teaspoons flour
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper

Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon course salt
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons, fresh sage, minced
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into pieces
1 1/4 cup ice water
1 egg

For the Dough: In the bowl of a food processor combine the flour, baking powder, salt, thyme and sage. Pulse a few times until thoroughly mixed. Add butter and pulse a few times until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal and the butter is pea-sized. Add water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. If dough is too dry add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough reaches the right consistency. On a floured surface turn the dough out and knead just until the dough comes together.

Divide dough in half and roll each piece out on a flour surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Using a 6-inch cookie cutter cut out circles, re-rolling any scraps and cutting additional circles if able. Set aside until ready to fill. For mini bite sized empanadas, use a 3-inch cookie cutter.

For the Filling: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the diced potato and cook until tender and a fork slides in and out of the potato easily, about 5 – 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, heat the oil. When hot add onion. Stir. Cook the onions until caramelized, occasionally stirring, about 45 minutes. Once caramelized turn up the heat to medium and add the garlic, pork, thyme and sage. Cook, breaking up the meat into tiny pieces with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Mix in the flour and cook for 3o seconds. Add 4 tablespoons water and stir until thick. Remove from heat and add potatoes and vinegar, mixing thoroughly together. Season with salt and pepper then set aside and let it cool down.

Assembly: Preheat oven to 400°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Heap the filling on half of each circle leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Brush the edge of the circle with water, fold top half of the dough over the filling and press edges together to seal. Crimp edges with fingers or fork.

Place empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. In a small bowl beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush over the empanadas. Bake until golden brown for about 30 to 40 minutes, rotating baking sheets 180 degrees half way through. For mini empanadas bake for 20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through.

Remove from oven and transfer to baking sheet to cool. Serve when able to be handled.

Freezer directions: Assemble empanadas, filling and crimping the edges. Place on baking sheet and place in the freezer until hard, then place in an air tight container. When ready to bake, place on a parchment lined baking sheet, brush with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes, rotating the pan half way through.