May 07 2008
Empanadas de acelga, remolacha y queso de cabra or swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas
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Published by Laylita at 4:50 am under All, Appetizers, Cheese, Empanadas, Vegetables, Vegetarian
These empanadas are the result of over shopping at the farmers market and successful kitchen experimentation. I was thinking that swiss chard and goat cheese would go well together in a pasta dish or maybe a pizza, but it just happened that I forgot that I also bought a bunch of beets at the same stand where I got the swiss chard, and when I pulled out the ingredients, I thought crap what can I do with these beets? I’ll just have to add them to whatever I decide to cook, which ended up being empanadas. I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical about these; I thought the stuffing tasted good but still wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out. I tasted them and liked them but wondered if anyone else would (sometimes I like anything I eat), so I took one to Nicolas and he loved it, then as I was taking pictures of them I thought I should try tasting them with the spicy mint crème fraiche sauce I made earlier for a leek soup, and the sauce was just perfect with these empanadas. These were really easy to make, especially since I cheated and used the store bough empanada discs, next time I will try them with the homemade empanada dough.
Ingredients:
12 medium size or 20 small empanada discs (use homemade empanada dough for baking or store bought)
4 small beets, peeled, boiled until tender and diced
1 bunch of swiss chard, chopped
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
½ white onion, sliced
2 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbs finely chopped fresh oregano
1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked
Salt to taste
Serve with: Spicy mint crème fraiche sauce
Preparation:
- Heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add the chopped swiss chard and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat, cool down and mix with the diced beets, crumbled goat cheese and chopped oregano.
- To assemble the empanadas spoon the stuffing on to the center of each empanada disc.
- Brush the inside edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, this is will help them seal better and keep the filling from leaking while baking .
- Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.
- Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give a nice golden glow when they bake.
- Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes, this will help them seal better and prevent leaks.
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
- Serve warm.
OMG-these look so good! We will have to use them in next month’s Empanada of the Month event! Layla-your blog is a treasure!
you are the empanada queen!! you’re gonna have to teach me
Laylita!!!
Great Blog!!!!!!!!!!! I love the presentation of the food and the recipes. I just wanted to say for those who don’t have time to make the dough you can get pre-made empanada discs at most Latino markets. There is an Argentine brand called La Salteña and it is excellent. They have two kinds, one for frying (I am not a fan of frying) and one for baking. Ask for the baking empanada discs. Many times these discs (La Salteña and others) are frozen but don’t let that scare you, they hold really well and taste great.
Again, I love the blog and keep the recipes coming.
Hi Bob – thank you for visiting. I agree completely on the frozen empanada discs, they are very good quality and make the whole process of making empanadas so much easier.
Just FYI, I am a guy who has no business in the kitchen unless Hamburger Helper is on the menu. Neverthless, as a guy in the doghouse who owed his wife a surprise homecooked meal, I made these empanadas and they turned out great! My wife was amazed, and too be honest, I was quite shocked at how much I liked them too (considering I made them)! I am glad I stumbled onto this site, as the first group came out so well, I think I am going to surprise her with one of your other empanada recipes this weekend. Thanks for the great ideas and the easy-to-follow instructions on how to make these…cheers!
Hi Bryan – Glad you liked them, they were a pleasant surprise for us the first time I made them!
WOW Laylita, I stumbled upon your site by accident and am just delighted by my detour.
)
The time and effort you put into each and every recipe is evident (and most appreciated by me,
your reader). Thanks, please keep up the wonderful work, you are now bookmarked
Thanks,
Katya
Your tips defintely make the difference here. The egg wash, chilling the empandas before baking, those made them come out so much better. My first try I just concentrated on the ingredients and the second time the process, wow what a difference and I will be back for more. Thanks
jen
Thank you for this recipe!