Chorizo empanadas

With the world cup in full swing, OXO have asked a group of bloggers to create some international recipes. I’d already dreamed up these chorizo and potato baked empanadas so it was the perfect opportunity for me to share them with you, in honour of the South American teams.

Traditionally, these would be made with masa harina, a type of maize flour, but without that to hand I’ve used a mix of plain and wholemeal flour that I think works really well. Although there are quite a few steps in this recipe, there are plenty of stages that you can stop at, making them perfect to prepare days or even months ahead.

For the pastry:

190g Plain flour

190g Wholemeal flour

1/4tsp Salt

170g Lard, cubed

1 Egg

5tbsp Cold water 

 

For the filling:

200g Potato, cubed

220g Chorizo, casing removed and minced

1 Onion, finely diced

1/2tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Oregano

 

Begin by making the pastry, combining the ingredients in a bowl and starting to bring it together with a spoon or knife. This takes a bit of work, but as soon as you see it coming together you can get your hands in and knead it until smooth. As a thank you for this recipe, I was sent a couple of kitchen items from the OXO range, including this stainless steel mixing bowl with a rubber grip base. It’s pretty handy.

Once smooth, wrap in cling film and transfer to the fridge to chill whilst we make the filling. You could stop at this point and leave the pastry in the fridge for up to three days or freeze for up to three months.

It’s then time to get on with the filling. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the cubed potato, simmering until cooked through, around 15minutes then drain.

Whilst that is cooking, Take a large frying pan on a high heat and fry the onion and chorizo with the spices until browned. Once cooked, leave to drain in a sieve to remove the fat that’s been released. Discard the fat and combine the chorizo mixture with the cubed potato.

Now for assembly. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the pastry to around 3mm thick. Use a bowl or plate to cut in to 15cm discs. You’ll need to reroll but you should manage to get 12. If you wanted, you could freeze the pastry now with a layer of greaseproof paper between each disc for up to three months.

Add around two tablespoons of filling to half of each pastry disc. Fill a small bowl with water, and using two fingers, draw a circle of water around the outside edge of the pastry. This is our glue. Fold the circle in half, squeezing the edges with your fingers to get a good seal and stretching the pastry slightly.

To ‘repulge’ the empanada, forming the twisty rope effect, start by folding a corner down, like so. Then moving on a centimetre or so, pinch the outer edge of the dough and fold it in, continuing all the way round.

As you finish each empanada, move it on to a lined baking sheet and using a pastry brush, glaze them with a beaten egg. I’ve always preferred silicone pastry brushes for hygiene reasons, but the OXO good grips brush is the first that I’ve used that picks up liquids as well as a bristle pastry brush.

Once all 12 are finished, put them back in to the fridge for half an hour. As tempting as it is, you mustn’t skip this step.  It’s key to getting the perfect pastry and avoiding soggy bottoms and filling leaks. You could stop again at this point, allowing you to prepare them up to two days in advance, or alternatively you could freeze them uncooked for up to three months.

Before the chilling time is up, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Bake the tray of empanadas for around 15 minutes or until golden.

They’re best eaten fresh from the oven but they keep well in the fridge in a sealed container for up to three days and can be reheated in the oven or eaten cold. I like to serve mine with a really simple dip of sour cream with a squeeze of lime juice and some finely chopped coriander and spinach.

If you’d like to check out the other blogger’s recipes for the World Cup, they’ll be posted on OXO’s facebook page.