Empanadas

E, me, G, and B @ famalia zuccardi winery in mendoza, argentina
(we had lunch there with grilled veggies, empanadas, grilled steak, and lots of wine!)

ever since E and i went to argentina last year i have been searching for the perfect empanada recipe. maybe there is something about authentic empanadas that can't quite be replicated. or maybe something about the experience and the atmosphere made them taste better. it's kind of like when we go to a different city and eat at a great restaurant and order a bottle of wine and it tastes delicious. we remember the bottle and label, find it at our local liquor store and it never quite tastes as good as we remember. a great atmosphere or situation makes things taste better.

stone oven in argentina where they bake the empanadas

E at ruca malen winery looking out to the andes mountains in mendoza

anyway, i digress. W and A had never had empanadas before, so A and i made them last night. we used ground elk, which is ultra lean. we tried two different empanada dough recipes. A, like 1 out of every 133 americans has celiacs disease, so we made one from A's "the gluten-free kitchen" and one from emeril that i changed to make it gluten-free. like i said, we used ground elk, but you could use lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground bison which is also very lean.

---

Elk Empanadas Filling

1 lb ground elk (beef, turkey, or bison)
1/2 c shredded low fat mexican cheese
4.5 oz can green chilies, drained

brown ground meat in large skillet. add cheese and chilies and stir till combined. remove from heat.

---

Gluten-Free Traditional Piecrust
(from The Gluten-Free Kitchen - we doubled the recipe)

1/2 c shortening
1/2 c potato starch
3/4 c cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 c plus 1 tbs milk

in medium bowl, combine all ingredients. mix very well to remove all lumps. if dough doesn't stay together, add an extra tablespoon of milk. roll dough out on floured surface or between two sheets of wax paper. dough should be 1/4 to 1/8" thick. cut out 4-6" rounds.

preheat oven to 400.

fill rounds with 1-2 tbs of ground meat mixture. using your fingers, lightly moisten the edges with some of the beaten egg, then fold 1 side over so that the edges meet, and press to seal. crimp the edges using the tines of a fork and transfer to ta parchment lined baking sheet. repeat until all of the empanadas are assembled. brush the tops of each empanada with some of the beaten egg and bake uncovered until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

---

Empanda Dough
(modified from an Emeril recipe)

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until very smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as necessary. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour, little by little, and the salt, and process until just combined. Turn the dough out onto a slightly floured surface and knead lightly. Form the dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours and up to overnight. 
roll dough out on floured surface or between two sheets of wax paper. dough should be 1/4 to 1/8" thick. cut out 4-6" rounds.

preheat oven to 400.

fill rounds with 1-2 tbs of ground meat mixture. using your fingers, lightly moisten the edges with some of the beaten egg, then fold 1 side over so that the edges meet, and press to seal. crimp the edges using the tines of a fork and transfer to ta parchment lined baking sheet. repeat until all of the empanadas are assembled. brush the tops of each empanada with some of the beaten egg and bake uncovered until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

---