Lazy Empanadas, that’s what I call these pockets of beefy, cheesy, fragrant scrumptiousness! Instead of painstakingly making the empanada dough (I’m exaggerating, but you catch my drift, right?) or relying on frozen empanada wrappers that can be tasteless or too crumbly, (besides being entirely unheard of here in Germany), use puff pastry instead. Preach! We will never be done spreading the gospel of store bought (but all butter only, please!) puff pastry sheets. 🙌🏼 Aleluja en español, because Cinco de Mayo just got even more relaxed, especially with those Margs making the rounds.
I could hardly take a pic with the three sets of cute albeit (I’m ashamed to admit) rather grubby hands sneaking them straight off the baking sheets. D’you suppose it’s bath day again? 😉 Recipe via the link in our bio! xoxo Donata
Ingredients
Makes about 40 empanadas, recipe can easily be halved
4 sheets frozen all butter puff pastry, defrosted but still very cold
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb (500 g) ground beef
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
Freshly ground black pepper & salt to taste
1/2 cup (100 g) chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup (100 g) chopped pickled jalapeños (optional)
3/4 cup (150 g) corn kernels, canned or frozen
1 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar
1 egg
Freshly chopped cilantro, as garnish
Sour cream for serving
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C). Prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add ground beef and cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 5 minutes. Drain fat.
Stir tomato paste into the pan. Add oregano, cumin, and paprika. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add tomatoes, corn and jalapeños, if using, and sauté until warmed through, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Prepare egg wash by cracking the egg into a small bowl, adding tablespoon of water and whisking throughly with a fork. Ready your basting brush!
Work in batches of two sheets at a time filling the empanadas, so the puff pastry sheets don’t get too warm.
Roll out two sheets of puff pastry and use a 3,5 inch (8 cm) round cookie cutter to cut out rounds. Should be about 10 rounds per sheet. Discard leftovers.
Brush the outer edge of a dough round with egg wash and place about 1/2 tablespoon of filling in the center and top with a sprinkling of cheddar. Fold the dough in half over the filling. Place the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets and brush with the egg wash. Bake until golden and filling is warmed through, about 20-25 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro and serve with sour cream.