Re-posted from the Veronica Foods blog.
Ingredients
Olive Oil Pastry
- 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/3 cup UP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 3 to 4 tablespoons water
Empanada Filling
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1 large yellow onion, finely minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons UP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 jar Delizia Roasted Red Peppers in UP Extra Virgin Olive Oil, drained and coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 /2 cup shredded Asiago cheese
- Sea salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1 egg beaten
Directions
- To make the filling, heat olive oil of choice in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add the ground meat of your choice. Saute until well browned.
- Add the onion and saute until translucent.
- Add the roasted peppers, garlic, oregano and cook for another few minutes until most of the moisture in the mixture has evaporated.
- Add the cheese, mix well, taste and season with salt and pepper, and then set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Mix the UP extra virgin olive oil and water together.
- Add to the dry ingredients and mix well until a dough forms.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
- Roll out to 1/8″ thickness and then using a round glass or a large circular cutter (4″-5″ diameter would be perfect), cut out rounds of dough.
- Fill each with 2 tablespoons of cooled filling, brush one half of the inner edge of the circle and then pinch firmly closed to form a half moon shaped empanada.
- Use the tines of a fork to make a decorative edge and help seal the empanadas.
- Arrange on a baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until each empanada is golden brown.
- Allow to cool slightly and serve warm.
- Can be frozen and reheated with excellent results.
Makes approximately 1 dozen empanadas