Hello!

Today for our last class of the semester, your young chefs learned how to make empanadas!  While many of them had a hard time pronouncing the name, the technique was very similar to our apple hand pies.  Instead of filling the dough with apples, we went the savory route, and the young cooks were able to be creative with their fillings!  

Empanadas are a dish that you can find in many latin countries - each has their own distinct flavor and fillings!  Eaten as an appetizer or a snack, empanadas are half-moon shaped pastries.  While traditionally, empanadas are fried, we baked ours to keep the snack healthy.  

The class began with a group reading of the recipe and a short demo on how to mix the dough.  Working in pairs, the chefs carefully followed the recipe, very entertained with the dough sticking to their hands.  Once the dough was formed into a ball, we allowed the dough to rest wrapped in plastic wrap for ten minutes.  

The next step is to prepare the filling!  Traditionally, you would stew together ground meat with raisins and spices.  Today we kept all the ingredients separate, so that the kiddos could be creative with their fillings.  There were cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese, ground turkey, black beans, cilantro, sauteed onions, and sliced green onions to choose from.  The key to filling the empanadas is to have a light hand on the amount you put in each pastry. While some children were a little overzealous with their filling, they quickly realized that you can't seal the edge if there is too much inside!  

Once all the empanadas were made, their edges crimped with a fork, we baked them in the oven and patiently waited for them to turn golden brown.  Once they are out of the oven, don't be tempted to jump in and take a bite - the insides are like molten lava! 

I really enjoyed cooking with your kids this semester, I hope that they continue to practice their culinary skills!  

Happy cooking!

Empanadas Recipe
Recipe adapted slightly from cooks.com

Shell:
2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup ice water
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Cut the shortening into the flour as though you were making a pie crust by working it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
 
Sprinkle dough with just enough ice water so that it will just hold together. Knead together briefly and allow to rest, covered about 10 minutes.
 
Roll dough out on a lightly floured board to circles about 3-4 inches in diameter.
 
Place a spoonful of empanada filling of your choice on one side of the circle. Moisten the edges of the circle with a small amount of water and fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle. Press the edges together to seal.
 
Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

*While we did not prepare this filling, here is a more traditional filling that is very delicious!

Filling:
1 medium sized onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, peeled
2 cups cooked beef, chopped
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup raisins
1 tsp vinegar
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and garlic in hot oil until translucent.
Add meat, sauté 5 more minutes. Stir in tomatoes, stock and remaining ingredients.
 
Simmer 30 minutes