chicken empanadas

An empanada, which means "to wrap or coat in bread", is basically meat and/or vegetables wrapped in pastry before being fried or baked, much like calzones, samosas and curry puffs. 

I love making things with pastry.

The thing, though, is, my kitchen tends to get really hot, so unless I work REALLY fast, my pastries tend to lose their shapes because of the heat.

So today, I decided to work really fast, and I made some empanadas because I had some chicken I wanted to use up.

I really like pastries. I mean, what's not to like? They are small and compact, making them very convenient to eat, and they are also fun and tasty.

I started by making the filling for the empanadas.

I seasoned the diced chicken with salt and pepper before cooking the chicken in olive oil until they turned opaque. The chicken would be cooked again later.

I added the rest of the ingredients and mixed everything until it was well-combined.

I floured a clean work surface and using my pastry/cookie cutter (you can use a glass, a bowl, whatever that's handy), I cut rounds.

I placed a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the middle of each round.

Then I brushed the edges of each round with water.

The dough was folded over, and I pressed on the edges with a fork to seal.

The empanadas were placed on a lined baking tray and baked for about 15 minutes, or until they turned golden brown.

And that was it!

Easy, peasy mini hand-held pies.

I would never have thought of adding cream cheese to pies, but now that I realised how tasty it is, I shall be making pies with cream cheese a lot more often!

RECIPE
Chicken Empanadas (Makes 30)
Adapted from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
3 cups (About 2 half breasts) chopped, cooked chicken
1 (8-ounce/ 225g) package shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
4 ounces (112.5g) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper - I used one medium bell pepper
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped - I omitted this
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts - I used one pack (6 sheets) ready-rolled puff pastry
Water

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. 3. Unroll 1 pie-crust (or puff pastry) onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inch circle. 
4. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. 
5. Re-roll dough as needed. Repeat procedure with remaining pie-crusts.
6. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. 
7. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. 
8. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. 
9. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). 
10. Arrange empanadas on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

This post is linked to Cook like a Star, Paula Deen and the Deen Brothers organised by me the Domestic Goddess Wannabe, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours and Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids.

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