Bay Ridge Empanadas

I'm a sucker for Mexican food. I'd seen Sunny Anderson on the Food Network make these things and I knew I had to try my hand at them.

The filling is phenomenal. I could eat it with a fork and call it a day - forget the shell.  It's spicy but has a hint of sweetness from the cinnamon and allspice. The slightest hint of curry also works very well in this. I also really liked the use of corn instead of raisins and such that you see in some empanada recipes.

So, the only thing was, I couldn't find the empanada wrappers. So I thought why not use puff pastry. Well, they were pretty good, BUT I know that if I had the wrappers they would have been fantastic. The puff pastry though pretty, was too "puffy", creating too much pastry to filling ratio (you can see what I mean in the below photo).

I will definitely be trying this recipe again - once I find the empanada wrappers.

Bay Ridge Empanadas

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound ground beef (I used ground venison)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted
1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon sazon seasoning

12 store-bought (6-inch) empanada wrappers (I used 1 pkg puff pastry)

1 egg, lightly beaten

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 1 minute more. Stir in the beef, cumin, curry, chili powder, allspice, thyme, cinnamon, and salt and pepper, to taste. Saute, stirring often, until the beef has browned, about 10 minutes. Add the corn and the Cheddar and set aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter with the sazon powder small pan over low heat. Stir well to combine and reserve. Working with 1 wrapper at a time, scoop 2 heaping tablespoons of the filling into the center of the wrapper. Brush the edges of the dough with beaten egg, then fold the dough over to form a half moon, pressing out the air with your fingertips. Use the tines of a fork to pinch and seal the edges, creating a border about 1-inch wide. Repeat with remaining filling and wrappers. Transfer the patties to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops of patties with the reserved sazon butter. Bake according to dough package instructions, or until puffed and lightly browned, about 20 minutes.