tweak and nourish

MASTERING THE EMPANADA DOUGH: A NEVER-ENDING QUEST. I love empanadas! This is probably my third blog entry about empanadas. Why do I bother making these tasty treats? Because of health reasons, I can't have fried and fatty foods. So I am determined to make a healthier version of one of my favorite foods.

Making the empanada dough is my biggest challenge. I don't want it greasy and doughy. I want the texture and the thickness just right. The quest to make the empanada dough that can pass my standards all started with browsing recipes online. I looked at vegan dough, with butter, others with lard, some with oil, and some with yogurt. The recipe with yogurt intrigued me. I had about half a cup of low fat plain yogurt in the fridge that I had planned on using to make Turkish flatbread but didn't get around to cooking it. The recipe for the empanada dough had only four ingredients: flour, yogurt, salt, and water. In a food processor, I put in 2 cups of flour, half a cup of yogurt, 1/8 tsp of salt, and a little bit of water. This is not what the recipe required. I needed a cup of yogurt. To compensate, I added half a cup of Grapeseed oil and a small piece of butter approximately a tablespoonful. The dough turned out soft. I didn't like the texture so I added another cup of flour in the food processor. It didn't look right. So I added a little bit of water. I took it out from the food processor and started kneading for a few minutes and rolled the dough out using a rolling pin. I used one of my bowls to form discs.

I brushed each disc with egg wash so the edges will adhere. Because there was enough egg wash on the disc, I didn't crimp the edges with a fork. Fortunately, I had only one empanada that popped open after baking- I overfilled it! I also brushed the top of the empanadas with egg wash prior to baking. I set the oven temp at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes and baked until golden brown.

The filling: half meat, half veggies. I used lean ground chicken, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, bell peppers, and raisins.

I hope to measure the ingredients next time so I can share the recipe with you. My husband joked again --" Enjoy it now because she won't be able to make it like this again." 😂

Dough Discs

Empanada Filling