Empanadas
Baked empanadas. A buttery flaky dough surrounds an intensely flavoured filling.
They are traditional in South America, Spain and Portugal and these pastry pockets can be eaten at any time of the day. They are often enjoyed as traditional snacks in Mexico to celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).
Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico during November 1st and 2nd. It is as much a celebration of life as a remembrance of loved ones who have died. Families and friends gather together to tell stories, dance, play music and enjoy their loved-ones' favourite foods. It sounds like a wonderful way to celebrate life and those who are no longer with us. Next year I have decided to host a Dia de los Muertos party and you're all invited.
The empanadas can be stuffed (or overstuffed in my case) with beans, veggies or meat. The flavours and texture make this a stand-out snack!
It's messy, flaky and the perfect snack-sized flavour-filled pastry.
if you fancy making up a big batch (which I would highly recommend) then they are perfect for freezing. Lighter, healthier, but just as tasty!
Ingredients
For the dough
300g buckwheat flour
150g butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
For the filling
(I made one savoury and one sweet but the best thing about empanadas is you can put anything in there! Also I can't give exact measurements as mine was made from leftovers)
Savoury:
A mixture of onions, black beans, mushrooms, squash, garlic, grated courgette, grated carrot, cumin, fresh parsley.
Sweet:
Coconut sugar, sweet potato, coconut oil, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg
Method
1. Heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking parchment.
1. Make up the fillings. For the savoury filling, fry the onions for around 5-10 minutes and then add in the other ingredients and heat on a medium heat. Add in some water or vegetable stock and leave to simmer for around 20 minutes. For the sweet filling, bake the sweet potato for around 40 minutes in the oven at 180C. Once it's out of the oven and cooled down, mix in the coconut sugar, coconut oil, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg.
2. To make up the dough, melt the butter and leave it to cool. Put the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl and then add in the butter and egg. Mix together to form a dough and if you need to add a little bit of water then feel free to do so. Knead the dough gently for a few minutes. Allow the dough to sit for a while covered.
3. Flour a surface and roll out the dough. Using round biscuit cutters, cut out disc shapes. Using a teaspoon, divide the filling out (be careful not to overstuff!)
4. Dampen the edges with a little bit of water and fold over the discs to make a semicircular parcel.
5. Using a fork press the edges down to seal.
6. Brush the empanadas with a beaten egg or a little bit of milk and place them onto baking tray
7. Bake for around 15-20 mins.
8. Eaaaat!
