You Must Make Empanada Chips and Sauce
Empanadas are absolute works of art. It’s true that I feel that way about all the carb-filled pockets, but that doesn’t detract from the zesty goodness of the empanada. What’s more, I’m happy to report that all the mouth-watering meaty, salty, and crunchy characteristics of an empanada blend seamlessly into the form of chips and sauces, and it’s amazing.
The only reason my jaw didn’t hit the floor after one bite of that deconstructed empanada is because it had food in it, which would have been disgusting. The filling was juicy and filled with umami and the dough pieces were evenly crispy (because they were cooked separately from the moist filling). Turning an empanada into an informal, shared snack is easy and requires little or no training. The ingredients remain the same, filling and casing, but there is no need for skillful shaping. I know filling spring rolls is easy for some, but overfilling dumplings is fraught with serious risks. With this preparation, careful filling of the dough, as well as folding or bending, is not required. Forgoing all of that greatly cuts down on overall cooking time and results in you snacking on empanada much faster.
Prepare the empanada filling on the stovetop. Use whatever recipe you like – beef, chicken , chorizo, and potatoes – they all work great. For the stuffing, I used this beef empanada recipe and added some chopped olives because I like their salty punch. For the dough, you can use flour tortillas or those made from cornmeal. My neighborhood grocery store has great pre-cut frozen empanada dough, so I bought that, but you can make your own from scratch. Prepare the filling as directed on the stove and set aside in a bowl. Shells can be deep fried, pan fried or baked depending on your preference. Your job is to make them cooked and crispy by whatever means your taste buds deem necessary. I buttered the empanada shells on both sides, placed them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and baked them in the oven at 400°F for 10 minutes. They were well reddened, reddened and reddened. I chilled them for about five minutes before serving with a bowl of toppings.
I’m the type of person who takes particular devastating pleasure in tearing baguette pieces with my hands, so I left the shells as round pieces that an avid eater can break into small pieces. To get individual chips with clean edges, cut them before cooking. To cook in the oven, butter the dough on both sides and cut with a sharp knife into quarters or strips across. Place your delicious crunchy empanada chips next to a full bowl of stuffing and scoop.