Sweet and Spicy Empanadas
photo by ncmysteryshopper
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 24
- Serves:
-
24
ingredients
-
Empanadas
- 1⁄2 lb ground beef
- 1 russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1⁄3 cup white onion, minced
- 1 1⁄2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon allspice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1⁄2 cup milk
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- 1 (17 1/3 ounce) box puff pastry sheets, frozen
-
Tomato Dipping Sauce
- 8 ounces tomato sauce (Trader Joe's is really good!)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon hot chili sauce (Sriracha)
- 1⁄2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 -2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon garam masala, spice blend
- 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1⁄2 - 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1⁄2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1⁄2 tablespoon olive oil
directions
-
For the sauce:
- Combine all ingredients and whisk till smooth.
-
For the empanadas:
- Take the pastry sheets out of the freezer 40 minutes before your empanadas will be ready to be filled.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Peel the potatoes and dice them fairly small. Cover them with water and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or till tender.
- Meanwhile, mince the onion and place in a large bowl with the beef, all the sugar and spices, and the milk. Knead with your hands until the mixture is very soft.
- Cook the meat mixture in a skillet over medium heat until the beef is browned.
- Drain the potatoes and mix them in with the meat. Drain any excess fat. (The potatoes should soak most of it up).
- Cut the pastry into 24 equal rectangles and divide the mixture between them.
- Divide the cream cheese into 24 portions as well and squish it on top of the meat so it evenly covers.
- Fold the pastry over and seal the edges by folding or pinching.
- Place on baking sheet and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until puffy and golden brown.
- Remove from oven, place on serving plate, and dip in the sauce if you desire!
Questions & Replies
Got a question?
Share it with the community!
Reviews
-
This was a really great recipe. The dipping sauce set this over the top! I tried blending the cream cheese in with the filling as another reviewer suggested. I would not recommend this as it kind of gave the filling the appearance canned dog food. Next time I think I may try spreading the cream cheese first or LIGHLTY tossing with the filling at the last minute. Overall, this was a truly great and unique combo of flavors.
-
Fabulous Empanadas! The cinnamon really stands out in this recipe and is balanced well with the chili powder and brown sugar. These are not overly sweet at all. The dipping sauce totally changes the flavors from sweet to spicy and takes it from empanada to a completely original tasting recipe - once I saw Sriracha I knew I would love the sauce! I made this recipe as part of our family RSC Pillow Recipe "Party." The guys preferred this one dipped in sour cream but I enjoyed the sauce (I like it hot - so thank your DH for me!) Good Luck Chef!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I'm a stay at home mom of a 5 year old boy, a 3 year old girl and an almost year old sweet baby girl. I love to cook (it's what I do for fun as well as out of necessity) and to entertain--and am finally learning to enjoy doing the dishes afterward. :) My husband loves to try new foods and likes lots of flavor, so it makes cooking really fun! We also have recently been studying a lot on health and nutrition and have been enjoying experimenting with new recipes that have a lot more whole food ingredients. I am learning why I always liked home-cooked food better than packaged and prepared stuff. :) I love my family and enjoy feeding them well!
I mainly post recipes for my own convenience (nutritional facts, to get them off the little scrap of paper and where I can find them...) but if anyone else can use or enjoy them, go right ahead! Maybe someday I will get all of mine on here, but for now, I love looking at all of everyone else's recipes and have gotten some great "keepers" for our family.
Please note that cooking times on any of my recipes are just guesses as I rarely have the opportunity to cook an entire dish or meal without interruption. :) I usually start dinner around 3:30 or 4 while the kids are napping, then pick up again around 5:30 or 5:45 and still get interrupted several times! :)
<img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/Adopted1smp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket">
<img src="http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/smPACp.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket">