Empanadas Con Queso
photo by KPD123
- Ready In:
- 40mins
- Ingredients:
- 23
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1⁄2 lb steak, diced into 1/4-inch bite-size chunks or 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cajun spices (I use Old Bay)
- 1⁄2 teaspoon oregano
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
- 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1⁄4 cup onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1⁄4 cup green bell pepper, diced
- 2 serrano peppers, minced (optional)
- 1⁄4 cup salsa
- 2 tablespoons beef broth (I use beef boullion granules)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (I keep a tube of sun-dried tomato paste in the fridge for stuff like this)
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed
- 1⁄4 cup butter, melted
-
Queso Cheese Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper, to taste
directions
- Toss meat with cajun spices, oregano, cumin, salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- In a medium skillet, saute onions, peppers and garlic in oil until soft. Add seasoned steak and saute until cooked through.
- In a small bowl, combine salsa, broth, and tomato paste. Pour over filling mixture in skillet, simmering for a minute or until slightly thickened.
- Add cheese to filling, then transfer filling mixture to a bowl and chill in the fridge while you get to work on cutting the puff pastry.
- Cut 18 squares from pastry sheets (you'll get 9 squares out of each sheet by cutting it into thirds at the two creases and cutting each strip into three squares). At this point, I like to sprinkle a little flour on each square and make them a bit bigger using a rolling pin.
- Retreive filling from fridge and spoon 1 or 2 tablespoons of filling onto each square or circle. Moisten the edges with water and fold over meat mixture, creating a triangle. Make sure to stuff all the filling in and press the edges together well with your fingers. Then seal the dough by pressing down on the edges with a fork. Repeat with remaining filling and pastry.
- Place empanadas on a baking sheet coated with nonstick cooking spray. Brush each empanada with melted butter and pierce the top with a fork to vent steam. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
- While empanadas are baking, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Wisk in flour and cook for about 1 minute. Wisk in milk gradually until incorporated. Gradually stir in cheese until melted and thickened. Season with cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over empanadas.
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Reviews
-
These were good, even with all of the changes (no peppers, salsa or tomato paste. Instead, I added tomatoes and extra garlic, but more spices would have been good.). Used 'Zaar #31504 for the puff pastry. Also used Sargento Mexican cheese blend instead of monterrey jack. The sauce really is versatile enough to be used with other meals. Thanks KPD!
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Oh man! These are soooo good! I pre-made the filling earlier in the day so when it came time for dinner these came together very quickly. I did have somewhat of a hard time filling them in the size of the puff pastry cut into thirds so I just rolled them out a little bit and was able to stuff a lot more of the yummy mixture inside :) I also doubled the recipe cause my steak was a little over a pound and I froze the other half for later use. The cheese sauce was also fantastic. Thanks for another keeper kpd!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
KPD123
Frisco, Colorado