On Empanadas and Enchiladas
Posted on 26 August 2008 by joy
I knew I was in the mood for some sort of homemade Mexican inspired dish this weekend but I couldn’t decide between empanadas or enchiladas.
Enpanadas have a deliciously seasoned beef (in my case) filling inside of a fried pastry crust. It’s like a fried hand pie with an amazing savory filling.
Enchiladas have a beautiful beef (in my case) and cheese filling with loads of red chili sauce, baked with cheese. Yum!
Both make a perfectly respectable weekend dinner, and are great if you’re having a few guests over for dinner. And the leftovers are outta sight!
Here’s one recipe, and two ways to do it up!
Beef Empanadas or Enchiladas
Gourmet September 2007
2 hard-boiled large eggs
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
2 tablespoons raisins
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives
1 (14-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained, reserving
2 tablespoons juice, and chopped
1 package frozen empanada pastry disks, thawed
About 4 cups vegetable oil
Equipment: a deep-fat thermometer
For Enchiladas add:
16 corn tortillas
2-6 Tablespoons vegetable oils (to fry the tortillas)
1 (14-ounce) can red chili enchilada sauce
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 9×13-inch baking pan
To Prepare Filling:
Cut each egg crosswise into 10 thin slices.
Cook onion in olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
Add raisins, olives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes with reserved juice, then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced but mixture is still moist, about 5 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool.
For Empanadas:
Preheat oven to 200°F with rack in middle.
Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a dampened work surface (to help keep plastic in place), then roll out an empanada disk on plastic wrap to measure about 6 inches. Place 3 tablespoons meat mixture on disk and top with 2 slices of egg. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp with a fork. Make more empanadas in same manner.
Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat until it registers 360°F on thermometer. Fry empanadas, 2 or 3 at a time, turning once, until crisp and golden, 4 to 6 minutes per batch.
Transfer to a shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven. Return oil to 360°F between batches.
Cooks’ note: Empanadas can be brushed with oil and baked on an oiled baking sheet in a 425°F oven until golden, about 10 minutes. (They will not be as crisp as fried empanadas.)
For Enchiladas:
Set meat filling aside to cool.
Add 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil to a pan. Fry each tortilla, placing on a plate with paper towels to drain.
Place enchilada sauce in a small sauce pan to warm over low heat. Once hot, turn off the flame.
When ready to assemble the enchiladas, add 1 cup grated cheese to the meat mixture.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Set up an assembly line with your fried tortillas, enchilada sauce, baking dish and meat filling. First dip a tortilla in the enchilada sauce to coat. Lay in the baking dish and fill with about 1/3 cup meat filling. Roll up and rest against the corner of the pan. Continue with another tortilla dipped in the enchilada sauce. Lay the dipped tortilla next to the rolled enchilada in the pan, fill with meat and roll. Continue to fill and roll enchiladas until pan is full.
Ladle a spoonful of enchilada sauce over each enchilada in the pan and sprinkle with cheese, bake at 350degrees F for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
August 27th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
El Pato sauce is the bomb! Good for Casseroles too!
August 26th, 2008 at 11:25 am
OMG that looks so freakin GOOD!