Empanadas para la Familia

By Andrew Hunter

Little savory hand-held pies called empanadas are a big hit in the Hunter house. We have an empanada shop close by, but we often make them at home. They’re super simple and easy to customize.

Perfect for lunch, dinner, or an on-the-go snack, one empanada is plenty for the typical appetite, especially if served with a salad and vegetable dish. We even pack them in the boys’ lunch boxes. Bake and serve them all, or freeze some to bake next week.

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Chicken Empanadas

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup minced green onions
2 cups sliced white or portabella mushrooms
1 cup diced tomatoes
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 boxes (17.3 ounces each) frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
2 eggs, beaten

Heat the oven to 350° F. To prepare the chicken filling, melt the butter in a large sauté pan until bubbling. Add onion, mushrooms, tomatoes and chicken. Stirring well, sauté for 5 minutes. Add the cream, tomato paste, and salt and pepper; stir well. Continue to cook until most of the cream has evaporated.

Lay the pastry sheets on a floured counter. Place a bowl or round stencil measuring 6 inches in diameter in one corner of one sheet. Cut around the circle with a knife. Repeat with opposite corner so you have two circles. Repeat with remaining sheets to make eight circles total.

Place 2 tablespoons of the filling shaped into a log in the center of each circle. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg, and gently fold in half, forming a half moon. Seal all the edges by pressing with the tines of a fork. Brush the tops with egg. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 8 empanadas (4 to 8 servings)

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