Off The Counter: Empanadas

Once a year Alex and I take on the [somewhat] difficult task of preparing empanadas.  It inevitably turns out to be an all day affair, but one well worth the time and effort.    Using a dough recipe found in the book The Useful Pig and a filling from a 1999 issue of Food And Wine we've perfected this Argentine delight and made it our own.  Take a look:

If you're up for trying these yummy meat pies, but would like a short cut, Goya makes Empanada dough shells.  Be sure to prepare a lot, these tasty pockets are great for freezing!

The Useful Pig Sour Cream Dough recipe:

2 cups sifted flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 stick of butter cut into small pieces and 1/2 cup of sour cream.

Combine the flour, salt and butter in a food processor or by hand.  Cut the butter into the flour mix until texture resembles coarse meal, then add the sour cream and mix until the dough is smooth and blended.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to use.

Filling can be found here. 

Buen provecho!