photo by riebschlager

A few weeks back we made it to a local food event - the Fiery Foods Festival.  The festival was small, with a decidedly Asian theme.  A half dozen local restaurants set up tents and served simple menus.  A Thai café had the longest lines and the most extensive menu.  There were kababs, green Thai curry, samosas, bento boxes.  Other than the green Thai curry, nothing I had could be considered "fiery", but the food was good and it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Somewhere along the way my son ended up with a Chinese food takeaway box of Serrano peppers.   Each one had a ribbon tied to it, so my guess is that they were meant as some sort of gift.  In the paws of a four-year-old they became little more than projectiles and a potential fit if he bit into one.  Still, we carted them home, and I needed a way to use them.

I was looking for something off one of the menus, and samosas fit the bill.  Samosas are a great snack, and these really use up the peppers.  I have served these at parties in a large bowl with a cloth covering, and the bowl always ends up empty.  These were too spicy for the kid, but wonderful for everyone else.  I served them with the same thai garlic chili I use with Vada Pavs.

  photo by steveyb

On a trip to a call center in Buenos Aires I discovered my standard street food - the empanada.  Every day I insisted that lunch start with yet another trip to the empanada stand downstairs.  At a place that resembled a sparse McDonalds, I could get a variety of mostly meat pies, all made with a crispy crust and not terribly spicy filling.  On return I started making them myself and found out how entirely flexible they are.  Such a fantastic concept - not as much of a caloric investment as a meat pie and not as much of a time investment as a samosa.  In the years that have passed since my decision to pursue empanadas I have made them with too many different fillings to remember.

The first and most important decision with empanadas is the filling.  There are many choices and not many bad ones.  The decision that is going to impact how much time it takes to make your empanadas is whether you want to use frozen pre-made shells or your own dough.  There are some good examples in the Samosas post or you could use the one below.  There is an example of this recipe all the way back to the Joy of Cooking.

If I am in a rush or feeling lazy, I keep some frozen shells on hand from La Salteña.  I get them from my local Mediterranean deli/bakery.  They are made in Argentina and work perfectly.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.


2. Roll out a disc (or if going the lazy route, peel off a finished shell)


3. Put some water around the lip of the empanada, then add a scoop of filling to the middle of the shell.


4. Pull the dough over the filling and crimp the edge to close.  I use an empanada cutter, but I have seen some interesting empanada presses on Amazon.


5. Stretch a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and place the empanadas in rows.  You can use a lightly greased baking sheet if you like.


6. Cook the empanadas on the center rack for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and brush with some olive oil.


7. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the empanadas are golden brown, usually about 15 minutes.  Make sure that the dough is finished and not clear.  If you are making your own dough (below), I give the empanadas a second brushing with oil 5 minutes before they are done.

Empanada Dough recipe

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 large egg

1/3 cup cold water

1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

Directions

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.


2. Add the butter to the flour a small chunk at a time, smashing the butter into the flour.


3. Beat the egg with the water and vinegar. 


4. Add to the dough.  Stir until everything is mixed.


5. Take the dough and turn it a couple times to mix everything.


6. Cool in a refrigerator until ready.

photo by food_in_mouth

Samosas are great small bites that are an easy addition to any menu.  The dough and process for making them are very similar to empanadas.  I use them interchangeably and generally make samosas vegetarian and make empanadas savory. 

These are simple to make but take a little time.  Its much easier if the filling is pre-made and chilled.

I far prefer the baked version, but the fried version is more common.  The way I make baked samosas, they are tasty without being dry, so I stick with baked.

There are plenty of good recipes for the dough, but Emeril really nailed a few recipes:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/spinach-and-cheese-empanadas-recipe/index.html

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/empanada-dough-recipe/index.html

If I am in a rush or feeling lazy, I keep some frozen shells on hand from La Salteña.  I get them from my local Mediterranean deli/bakery.  They are made in Argentina and work perfectly.

I posted the dough recipe I use in my post on Making Empanadas. 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.


2. Roll out a disc (or if going the lazy route, peel off a finished shell)


3. Cut the disk in half.  Put a little water on the flat edge, on both sides.


4. Pull the flat edge together to form a little cone.  Press the edges together, since they need to stick during the baking.


5. Fill the cone up in two scoops.  I always use two scoops to make sure I am getting the filling down in the cone.  Pat the filling down a bit.


6. Put some water around the lip of the samosa, then pinch it together closed.  You can finish it like an empanada if you want to get fancy.


7. Stretch a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and place the samosas in rows.  You can use a lightly greased baking sheet if you like.


8. Cook the samosas on the center rack for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and brush with some olive oil.


9. Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until the samosas are golden brown, usually about 15 minutes.  Make sure that the dough is finished and not clear.