How to make Savory Empanadas. Video by Liddie Martinez

By LIDDIE MARTINEZ
Española Valley

As promised, we are taking a deeper dive into the famous empanadas. These little pockets of nutrition are wildly popular and a great way to eat on the run. Empanadas were first made in what is now known as Spain during medieval times while under Moorish invasion. Compact, versatile, portable, sweet or savory, served hot or cold, baked or fried, they made instant meals that could be served anywhere. They were a snap to make and were super cheap since smart and frugal cooks found it a great way to use up leftovers. Empanadas quickly caught on and became wildly popular throughout Latin and South America. Spanish colonizers brought them to Northern New Mexico in the late 1500s and so, my family has been making them here ever since.

In my grandmother’s house these beauties emerged every time my grandmother made tortillas or sopapillas, which was very often. She would use the last of the dough and fill them with whatever was on hand, usually it was refried beans and chile with a bit of cheese or left over taco meat mixed with a bit of mashed potato. She would deep fry them if she was making sopapillas because the hot oil was ready to go but she would also bake them at times in the oven. Most of these were refrigerated and taken with you if you had work to do away from the house. The beauty of these for the kids is that you never knew what was in them. Odds were always good that they were beans and chile because it was a frequent meal but sometimes, to our surprise, they would be stuffed with tender chunks of roast or, if you were lucky, baked apples with cinnamon. It was always a surprise, and they were always delicious.

My own specialty is a tomato stuffed roasted green chile with a sprinkle of garlic salt. It is a favorite summer flavor and around for such a short amount of time that an appearance in the dead of winter is like biting into a summer memory. They freeze perfectly and because the diced tomato is stuffed inside the chile, it does not leak liquid onto the pastry, so it remains flaky when you bake it. You do not have to thaw them when they are frozen. Just place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in an oven preheated to 350° for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. You will smell the roasted green chile when they are done.

I made a few variations for the video, but you can choose your own fillings. Be careful not to make the filling too wet, not only will the pastry get soggy, but it is dangerous to put anything dripping with moisture into a pan of hot oil. Use a boiled potato or two in your mixture- it will absorb any liquid and increase the volume of your filling to stretch those grocery dollars without changing the flavor.  Also – fish does quite well as a filling, especially shellfish.

Sopapilla Dough

Ingredients

4 cups flour

2 Tablespoons lard or bacon fat

1 ½ cups warm milk

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1 ½ teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups oil for frying

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk and set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients then add fat and rub into flour mixture between fingers until it has been incorporated. Make a well in the center of the mixture and pour in the dissolved yeast. Stir into flour raking fingers around the bowl until a dough ball begins to form.

Gather dough and knead on counter adding a dusting of flour as needed. Dough will be slightly sticky.

Grease bowl before placing dough back in and cover with plastic wrap allowing dough to rise and double in size, about an hour.

Punch dough down and make 10-12 small dough balls and cover with a tea towel while you work on rolling. Heat oil in deep skillet to 350°.

Roll out dough into a disk about 1/8 inch thick. Dip your finger into a small bowl of water and dampen the edge of half the disk. Stuff with about 2 Tablespoons of filling. Do not over stuff as empanada may burst open while frying and it will be a big mess. Fold tortilla over pressing down on the edge. With a clean fork press down sealing the edge then gently lift the empanada and holding it with your left hand use your right thumb and forefinger to flute the edge. Fry one empanada at a time in the hot oil for about 1-2 minutes gently turning with a slotted spoon to cook the other side until both sides are golden brown. 

Drain on paper towels.   

Makes 12-15 empanadas.

Editor’s note: Liddie Martinez is the author of the popular award winning Chile Line Cookbook: Historic Recipes of Northern New Mexico, which is available online at www.pajaritopress.com.

Savory Empanadas. Photo by Liddie Martinez

Green chile stuffed with tomatoes as filling for Savory Empanadas. Photo by Liddie Martinez

Savory Empanada before baking or frying. Photo by Liddie Martinez