Chicken Empanada With Chorizo Raisins And Olives Recipe Epicuriouscom

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Cook chorizo in oil in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, 2 minutes, then transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon. Add onions to saucepan and cook, stirring frequently, until golden and very soft, about 15 minutes. Add garlic, bell peppers, bay leaf, salt, and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until peppers are very soft, about 15 minutes. Peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch pieces, then stir into onion mixture and cook over moderately low heat, covered, stirring frequently, until potatoes are just barely tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add potato mixture to chorizo and stir to combine. Cool filling to room temperature and discard bay leaf.
• Form and bake empanadas:
• Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and form each into a disk. Keeping remaining pieces covered, roll out 1 piece on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 5-inch round (about 1/8 inch thick).
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons filling onto center and fold dough in half, enclosing filling. Press edges together to seal, then crimp decoratively with your fingers or tines of a fork. Transfer empanada to a baking sheet. Make 11 more empanadas in same manner, arranging on 2 baking sheets.
• Lightly brush empanadas with some of egg wash and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer empanadas to a rack to cool at least 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Season with the salt. Cook for 1 minute. Add the red and green peppers and corn. Cook until the peppers soften and any liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.
• To the same pan, add the chicken and wine, and season with salt. Cook until the chicken is just cooked through and almost all of the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate the filling until chilled; stir in the cheese. The filling may be prepared and refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days.
• Fill a small bowl with cold water. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Using a 5-inch-diameter plate as a template, cut out 24 circles. Spoon about 1/4 cup chilled filling into the center of a circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Brush the border with cold water. Fold the dough over, stretching it slightly, to form a half-moon shape. Beginning at one end, press the edges together to seal, while trying to remove any air pockets. Press again to ensure the empanadas are well sealed. Using a fork or your fingers, crimp the edges to form a decorative edge. Repeat with the remaining circles and filling.
• Brush the empanadas with egg wash, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (but no longer than 1 day). Once filled, the empanadas may be frozen and baked later, without defrosting, in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange the empanadas on the baking sheets. Bake until puffed and browned and the filling is bubbling inside, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the lard and butter, and pulse until the mixture is the texture of coarse meal. With the processor running, slowly add enough water to form a firm dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and knead until the dough comes together and becomes smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for 1 hour.

Steps:

• For the chimichurri sauce: Combine the parsley, oregano, cilantro, garlic, crushed red pepper and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in a food processor. Process until coarsely chopped. Add the vinegar and pulse to combine. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the oil and 2 tablespoons water. Set aside at room temperature. (Can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before serving. Makes 1 cup.)
• For the filling: Put a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Put the chicken thighs skin-side down in a large saucepan. Add the broth, parsley sprigs and bay leaf, turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until a meat thermometer inserted in a piece of chicken near the bone registers 150 degrees F, about 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate. When cool enough to handle, discard the skin and shred the meat into large pieces; you should have about 2 cups. Place in a medium bowl. Reserve 1/2 cup of the broth. (Strain and keep the rest to make delicious soup!).
• Wipe out the saucepan, heat it over medium heat and add the lard. Add the onion, season with salt and cook, stirring, until soft but not brown, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the cumin and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the 1/2 cup broth and let it bubble and thicken, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture over the chicken, add the olives and toss to combine. Taste and add salt if necessary-the filling should be aggressively seasoned, since it will be wrapped in the dough. Pop the chicken into the refrigerator just until cool, about 10 minutes.
• To make the empanadas: Place a small bowl of cool water by your work surface. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Working with 1 wrapper at a time and keeping the rest covered, brush a little water on one edge of the empanada wrapper. Put 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the wrapper and fold in half. Use your finger to press out the air, making a border of about 1/2 inch around the filling. Press with a fork to seal the edges. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.
• Bake the empanadas until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. Serve warm with the chimichurri sauce.

Steps:

• Combine first 11 ingredients in heavy medium skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to processor; grind coarsely. Transfer to medium bowl. Mix in breadcrumbs. Season filling to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate filling until cold, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
• Line baking sheet with foil; sprinkle with flour. Place gyoza wrappers on work surface. Lightly brush edge of each wrapper with beaten egg. Place heaping 1 teaspoon filling in center of each gyoza wrapper. Fold gyoza wrapper in half and crimp edges with tines of fork to seal. Transfer empanadas to prepared baking sheet. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover empanadas and refrigerate.)
• Heat canola oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add empanadas to oil and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Drain empanadas on paper towels. Serve warm.
• *Gyoza wrappers can be found at Asian markets and in the refrigerator section of many supermarkets. If unavailable, substitute wonton wrappers and cut into 3 1/2-inch rounds.

Steps:

• Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
• Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (Mixture will look shaggy.)
• Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

Steps:

• Preheat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
• In a large bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the chicken, colby and Monterey cheese, cream cheese, red pepper, jalapeno, cumin, salt, and pepper.
• Remove 1 pie crust from pie tin onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 15-inch circle.
• Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed.
• Repeat procedure with remaining pie crusts, making 12 to 15 circles total.
• Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface.
• Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the edges of crust with water.
• Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round.
• Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal.
• Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture.
• Place empanadas in deep-fryer for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown.
• Top with queso dip.
• Note: Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month.
• Sauce:.
• In a medium sauce pot, slowly heat cheese over medium/low heat.
• When cheese is fully melted add tomatoes, stirring with spoon until combined well.
• Pour cheese dip into a small casserole dish and serve as a dip for the cheesy empanadas or pour on top for a real cheesy effect.

Steps:

• 1. In a large skillet over medium heat combine olive oil, chicken, onion and bell pepper. Saute a few minutes until onions start to become translucent. Add cumin, salt, pepper, and tomato paste, stir well to combine. Add garlic, cilantro, raisins, and olives and saute 3 minutes longer. 2. Add wine and scrape around edges of pan to de-glaze, (a lot of the good flavors are usually in the sticky stuff on the pan- adding liquid releases it and incorporates it back into the mixture). Continue to cook stirring occasionally until all of the wine is absorbed. Check for seasoning, then remove from heat and set aside to cool. 3. When filling has cooled, place about 2 tablespoons of it on wonton wrappers which have been cut into circles. (read above). Brush edges of dough with the egg. Fold in half and crimp with a fork. At this point the empanadas can be refrigerated and fried later. 4. Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Fry empanadas a few at a time, turning them in pan until golden and lightly browned; place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb extra oil. Serve with your favorite salsa and chopped Cilantro.