End of Summer Baked Empanadas
Ground pork, sweetcorn, poblano and heirloom tomato cooked down until the skillet is dry, then folded into a pliable all-butter dough and baked rather than fried. Makes two dozen, and they freeze raw better than almost anything else in this house.
Ingredients
The Empanada Dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour about 500 grams, plus more for rolling
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cubed, straight from the refrigerator
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup whole milk cold
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar keeps the dough relaxed and easy to roll
Corn and Poblano Filling
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil divided
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork not the leanest available
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 poblano peppers seeded and diced
- 2 ears sweetcorn kernels cut off, about 1 1/2 cups, or the same frozen
- 2 medium heirloom tomatoes seeded and diced, seeding is not optional
- 1 jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt divided, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese added at assembly, not in the skillet
- 1 large egg beaten, for the egg wash
- 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt for scattering over the tops
Instructions
Make the Dough
- First, whisk the flour, baking powder and fine sea salt together in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and work it in with your fingertips or a pastry blender until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pieces still the size of peas.
- Beat the egg, milk and vinegar together, pour them in and stir with a fork until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass. Knead it three or four times on the counter, no more, then divide it into two flat discs, wrap them and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Cook the Filling
- Next, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high. Brown the pork hard, breaking it up as it goes, season it with half the kosher salt and the pepper, and transfer it to a plate.
- Add the remaining oil, lower the heat to medium and cook the onion with a pinch of salt until softened. Add the poblanos and the corn and cook until the kernels pick up some color, about 5 minutes.
- Then add the tomatoes, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin and oregano and cook until the pan is visibly dry, with no liquid running back when you drag a spoon across the bottom. Return the pork, taste for salt, spread it all on a sheet pan and cool it completely, about 20 minutes.
Roll, Fill and Crimp
- After that, heat the oven to 400F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Cut one disc of dough into 12 pieces and roll each into a circle about 5 inches across, keeping the second disc cold until you need it.
- Put a scant ice cream scoop of cold filling in the middle of each circle with a pinch of cheese on top, keeping the outer half inch clean and dry. Fold the circle over, press the two edges flat together all the way around, then crimp with a fork. Repeat with the second disc.
Bake and Cool
- Finally, brush the tops with the beaten egg and scatter the flaky salt over them. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, swapping and rotating the two pans halfway through, until they are deeply golden across the whole dome and dry underneath.
- Move them to a rack for 10 minutes before serving, because the filling holds far more heat than the pastry suggests. They are at their best within the hour.
Notes
Chilling: the dough needs at least 1 hour in the refrigerator and is easier to roll after 2. That time is unattended and is not counted above.
The dry test: drag a spoon across the skillet before you take the filling off the heat. If liquid runs back into the track, keep cooking. Wet filling is the only reason these leak.
Cool it completely: spread the filling thin on a sheet pan for 20 minutes, or make it a day ahead.
Filling amount: a scant ice cream scoop per 5-inch circle. It looks stingy and it is correct.
Freezing: crimp, freeze in a single layer until solid, then bag for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 400F and add 5 to 7 minutes.
Reheating: 350F for 8 to 10 minutes on a rack. Never a microwave.
Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1empanada | Calories: 238kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 405mg | Potassium: 130mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 335IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1mg