Mexican empanadas are variously filled with meat, cheese, vegetables or fruit, and served as hors d’ouevres, main courses or desserts. These vegetable empanadas are filled with a combination of mushrooms and West Indian pumpkin or winter squash. In Mexico, winter squash is sold around Día de los Muertos and Halloween as calabaza fantasía — “fantasy squash” — because it […]
Continue ReadingThis recipe is adapted from Alquímias y Atmósferas del Sabor, by Doña Carmen Titita Ramírez, proprietress of Mexico City’s famed El Bajío restaurant. The plantains should be cooked a day in advance, to give them time to “set” and make the mashed plantains easier to roll, since they are the only ingredient in the empanada “dough.” Mexican […]
Continue ReadingChipotle chiles give these chicken empanadas a characteristic taste of Central Mexico. I’ve made these as Mexican mini empanadas (empanaditas) for a party buffet, and recommend chopping everything very finely in order to fill smaller dough rounds. Ingredients For the dough: 2 cups all-purpose flour ¾ cups masa harina or very fine cornmeal ½ teaspoon […]
Continue ReadingWith no meat or dairy, these empanadas will keep for a day at the beach or park, or just lunch in the yard or on the patio. For the dough: 2 cups all purpose flour ¾ cup masa harina ½ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons shortening 2 egg yolks ¾ cup water Combine the first four ingredients in […]
Continue ReadingOne of the most famous street snacks of Veracruz, this puff pastry empanada is flavored with the classic Spanish combination of raisins and olives, with the distinctly Veracruz touch of pickled jalapeños. I think of it as a fish picadillo. You can use any leftover cooked fish, flaked, in place of tuna. If you live in a […]
Continue ReadingEmpanadas are different all over México. In many parts of the country, they resemble a filled puff pastry; in Tabasco, they are filled, fried tortillas. There this recipe would invariably be made with the local fish pejelagarto, but any firm-fleshed fish works well. A good idea is to make extra when grilling or poaching fish, […]
Continue ReadingA juicy pork filling, flavored with spices, makes these substantial Chiapas style pork empanadas a good lunch or late supper dish. Any leftover roast meat would be good here. The dough is traditionally made with pork lard, though butter works well. To coarsely grind the spices as called for, I put them together in a […]
Continue ReadingHere the chaya, a leafy green used throughout the Yucatan, is incorporated right into the corn dough, a common technique in this region. The chopped hard boiled egg filling is complemented by the chile-laced tomato salsa, integral to this dish. Chard or spinach can be substituted for the chaya. The salsa that tops these chaya empanadas […]
Continue ReadingPineapple seems to be the most common fruit filling for empanadas in Mexico, but guava and apple are frequently used and delicious. The dough for sweet Mexican empanadas usually contains some sugar, but any basic empanada dough can be used, sprinkling sugar on top. Ingredients For the dough: 3 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup […]
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