My favourite chicken empanada is the one from the Asian restaurant here in my area. Yup, chicken empanada with extenders and all that; I can always imagine eating that soft empanada crust with a ground chicken filling or mashed potatoes with chicken seasoning. Whatever, it’s still the best empanada for me, though.
Today, I decided to make my empanada recipe as my way of being thankful that I’m no longer feeling under the weather. I was sick since Sunday evening, and now that I’ve recovered, I’m back to business. But, of course, by business, I meant cooking.
Chicken Empanada
Print RecipeIngredients
- Crust Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1/2 cup of cold unsalted light butter
- 1/3 cup of vegetable shortening
- 7 tablespoons of iced water
- Filling Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of light canola oil
- 1 tablespoon of light unsalted butter
- 1/2 medium onion, minced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 medium potato, chopped
- 1 medium carrot, chopped
- 1/2 cup of green peas, thawed
- 1/4 cup of raisins
- 1 cup of chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
- Salt to taste
- 450 grams of ground chicken breast
Instructions
Crust Instructions
- In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients together, i.e., flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix using a fork.
- Cut the cold butter and shortening until the mixture is like butter-covered breadcrumbs. Slowly add in the iced water as you mix by hand. Mould the dough into a ball and put it inside a plastic bag or Ziploc. Don’t forget to dust your plastic with loose flour.
- Store the dough inside the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
Filling Instructions
- In a pan, heat oil and butter, then saute the onions and garlic.
- Next, add the chicken and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. Drop in your potatoes and carrots and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in your chicken broth and follow-through by dunking in your green peas and raisins. Simmer for another 3 minutes. Add pepper and salt to taste. If you like your filling a little sweet, add in sugar. Cook for another 2 minutes, and you’re done.
- Strain the sauce from the filling as you set it aside to cool.
Assembling Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a mixture of 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water. We’ll use this to brush over the empanadas later.
- Take out your dough, and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into 3-millimetre or 1/8-inch thick. Don’t make it too thin else; the crust will break when baked.
- Using a cookie cutter, cut circles from the dough. You can use anything around at least 10-centimetre or 4 inches in diameter. This will be your crust.
- Scoop 1 to 2 tablespoons of the filling and place at the centre of the crust. Fold the crust so that the edges meet and seal using a fork.
- Lay down on a greased baking sheet and brush the top of your empanadas with the egg/water wash.
- With a knife, make 2 to 3 slits at the top to let the steam pass through while baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
