Empanadas Ole!

Recently we have developed a new tradition with our neighbor by having Wednesday night dinners. We always prepare fantastic foods, drink a little too much for a Wednesday night, and have a glorious time! These nights make me actually look forward to Wednesdays. This past week Adam and I decided to re-create a dish from the Latin cooking class we took in August (as my birthday present--Thanks Mom and Dad!). I wasn't actually able to try the empanadas that were made at the cooking class, but the teacher suggested making them with roasted butternut squash and goat cheese, which is exactly what we did. We also made some more traditional empanadas filled with chorizo. We served both with a cilantro mojo sauce which will blow your mind! Mixed with homemade margaritas and a salad with black beans and avocado, this meal was a perfect hump day celebration!

A few notes:
1. I forgot to take a picture. Perhaps it was the margarita I had had, perhaps not. Nevertheless, there isn't an empanada picture.
2. I am going to give you the original recipe that has chicken and chorizo. For the chorizo empanadas we made, we followed the same recipe but simply omitted the chicken. For the butternut squash emapanadas, we roasted half a butternut squash for approximately 40 minutes in a 400 oven. Then, we mashed the roasted squash, that had been peeled, with cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Next, we crumbled goat cheese into the mixture. That's it!
3. The dough is incredibly easy in the food processor and incredibly delicious!


Chicken and Chorizo Empanadas with Clinatro Mojo (Penelope Alzamora)

Dough:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter (4 oz.)
1 cup cream cheese (8 oz.)
salt and pepper

Cilantro Mojo
1 tsp. toasted cumin seeds
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup cilantro
1 medium poblano chile, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 cup virgin olive oil
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar

Filling
3 Tbs. olive oil
6 oz. ground chicken
1/4 cup chorizo, casing removed
1/2 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground ancho chile
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 Tbs. raisins
salt and pepper
12 green olives stuffed with pimento, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. of water

1. Dough: To make the dough, place the flour, butter, cream cheese, and a pinch of each of salt and pepper in a food processor until dough forms a smooth ball. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and chill at least 30 minutes. Meanwhile, start making the mojo and filling.
2. Cilantro Mojo: In a mortar crush the cumin seeds. Mash in the garlic and salt, then add and mash to a paste the cilantro, poblano, and jalapeno chile. Gradually stir in the oil and vinegar. Reserve.
3. Preheat the oven to 400.
4. To make the filling: Warm olive oil over medium high heat in a medium-sized pan. Add the chicken and saute, until cooked, about 1 minute. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and reserve. In the same pan, over medium-high heat, saute chorizo, garlic, onion, bell pepper, ground ancho chile, and cumin until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pan; add raisins, olives, salt and pepper to taste. Let it cool.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to 1/4-inch thick and cut rounds using 3-inch or 5-inch cutter.
6. On each circle of dough, place about 1 Tbs. of filling. Moisten the edges with beaten egg wash and fold the pastry in half, pressing the edges together with a fork. Brush the empanadas with beaten egg.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown. Serve with cilantro mojo sauce.