Spicy Empanadas Tapas

cookiedog's Note:

Posted for Zaar World Tour III. These empanadas use a refrigerated pie crust for the pastry.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 28 empanadas

• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 link hot linguica sausage
• 1/4 cup chopped bell pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 small yellow wax chile pepper, seeded and minced
• 1 small tomato, seeded and chopped
• 1 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions:

1. Remove casings and chop linguica.
2. Sauté onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Add all remaining ingredients except pie crust and egg; cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes more and set aside.
4. Unroll pie crust and cut into circles with a 3-inch cutter.
5. Gather scraps, then reroll and cut into circles on a lightly floured board. Preheat oven to 400°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. Place a small spoonful of meat mixture onto half of each dough circle.
7. Moisten edges with water and fold over to enclose filling; pinch edges to seal. Place on baking sheets and brush with beaten egg. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Reviews

[stormylee]

I love, love, love the idea of using ready-made pie crust as pastry for empanadas! It has never occurred to me before and makes these such a quick treat! I used chorizo instead of linguica but otherwise followed the recipe. Rolled out the pie crust as well as I could but only got 18 empanadas - but on the other hand, the amount of filling was just right for my 18 circles! Thank you for sharing, these were lovely!

[983121]

I loved this! I used spicy Italian sausage instead and it was wonderful!

[Houseblend]

I was slightly disappointed with this recipe. The individual tastes were good (the meat mixture and the pie crust)and they were pretty quick to make, but the finished product just didn't do it for anyone at our new year's party. First of all, keep in mind they're really small. I know it says 3 inch circles, but I'd recommend making them about 5-6 inches so they're more than one bit total. At 3 inches, you can barely fit in any filling and you get a mouth full of pie crust which overpowers the meat. Directions were clear and concise. Thanks cookie!