Empanadas

Empanadas



**NOTE**: Our recipe is not identical to this one, but it is a good demonstration of the dishes you will be making. We will be baking instead of frying our empanadas.

 * 1. What is an Empanada?**

em·pa·na·da
/empəˈnädə/ Noun A Spanish or Latin American pastry turnover filled with a variety of savory ingredients and baked or fried.

// (Taken from dictionary.com) //

a red sweet pepper stuffed into a green olive
 * 1. What are pimentos?**

Mincing olives is very similar to mincing garlic: 1. Slice the olives. 2. Gather a pile of the slices 3. Rock your knife over the olives, regathering as needed until finely minced.
 * How do you mince olives?**

a Caribbean and Latin American sauce of tomatoes, onions, peppers, garlic, and herbs. In most cases, it is the foundation upon which the rest of the recipe is built. Sofrito mixtures range in color from green to orange to bright red. They also range in flavor from mild to pungent to spicy. //(taken from latinfood.about.com)//
 * 2. What is Sofrito?**

Hundreds of recipes from the Latin Caribbean and other Latin American countries begin by instructing the cook to “[|make a sofrito]”. It’s the first thing to go into the pot and establishes the flavor and seasoning of what’s to come. It is integral to Latin cuisine, which makes it difficult to believe that sofrito did not originate in, nor is it exclusive to Caribbean or Latin American cookery.
 * 3. Why is a popular part of Latin American cooking?**

The word sofrito is Spanish in origin and means to lightly fry something, such as sautéing or stir-frying. It’s a technique that the Spanish colonists brought with them when they settled in the Caribbean and Latin America beginning in the late 1400s. //(taken from latinfood.about.com)//

Sazon means seasoning in Spanish; salt, ground black pepper, granulated garlic or garlic powder, dried ground coriander seed (I doubt whether you can find dried cilantro, unless you get some and dry it yourself,) cumin, oregano and annatto seeds, ground. The achiote (annatto) is what makes the Sazon reddish.
 * 4. What is sazon?**

Here in the US, Goya (a producer of Latin American foods) sells Sazon packets of seasoning with or without annatto.

dried cilantro seeds which are used as a spice both in whole form and ground. Coriander seeds have a bit of a spicy, citrus flavor and are available in the spice aisle of most grocery stores.
 * 5. Describer coriander: Where does it come from?**

Annatto is the seed or extract from the achiote tree, which is indigenous to Latin and South America. Annatto is used heavily in Central and South America as a dye, medicine, and as an ingredient in many foods. Annatto is a naturally intense dye which can range in color from bright yellow to deep orange. Many commercially made food products utilize annatto for its potent color.
 * 6. Describe annatto? What is it’s purpose?**

1. Lay out ALL of the discs (8) and evenly distribute the meat mixture among the 8 discs. 2. Dip your finger in water and run it along the outer edge of the disc. 3. Fold the dough over and very tightly press out all air from around the pocket of meat. 4. If a large amount of dough remains around the edges, use a pizza cutter to trim some of the excess. 5. Close with one of the methods below.
 * How do you fill the empanadas?**

When you fill the empanadas, attempt the rope fold, but you may use the fork method for the majority if you prefer. Step 1 - Seal the Empanadas Step 2 - Fold the edges Repulge (Rope/braided edge) From About.com...
 * How to fold/braid the edges of empanadas:**

//The braided seal of an empanada is called the repulgue. A quick search of youtube with the terms "empanada" and "repulgue" will turn up numerous homemade videos of people demonstrating how to fold/braid the edges of empanadas. Some of these videos are quite instructive (and entertaining), but also frustrating. I've watched these expert women's fingers fly as they fold perfect repulgues, making it look so simple, but then when I go to do it myself, something goes awry. So be forewarned - making perfect empanadas is a skill that takes much time and practice. The good news is that even ugly empanadas taste good!//

At the beginning of class, make sure the oven is preheated. Place your jelly roll pans (2 per group) in the oven to warm them up. This will give the baked empanadas a fried texture
 * What should be placed in the oven before you begin preparing the empanadas? Why?**

1. The skillet with the meat mixture 2. a LARGE white cutting board 3. The empanada discs 4. a prep bowl of water 5. 2 jelly roll pans (at the end) 6. a small bowl of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) 7. a pastry brush 8. 3 spoons 9. Wet rag When using the convection oven, which bakes items, using forced hot air, faster, at a lower temperature, follow the 2 guidelines: **Reduce the temperature by 25 degrees** //and reduce the cooking time by 1/4, or bake the dish for 3/4 of the original time.//
 * What will you need to set up at your filling station?**
 * Note you will not need the rolling pin.**
 * What are the guidelines for baking in the convection oven?**

When you are ready to begin filling your empanadas, pull the heated jelly roll pans out of the oven. Brush the pans with EVOO as directed in the recipe. Put pans back into the oven to heat the oil before baking the empanadas.
 * What should you do with your jelly roll pans //BEFORE// baking the empanadas?**