Empanadas with red lentils
By: Tortadellafiglia
Published: Saturday, January 24, 2015 - 4:49pm

Ingredients




for the dough
500 g flour,
310 g butter,
2 eggs,
340 g milk,
1 1/3 tsp salt
filling:
1 cup of dried red lentils,
1 pepper,
handful of green olives,
olive oil,
tomato paste,
oregano,
basil,
salt,
pepper,
parmesan cheese
additionally:
egg to brush
herbs to sprinkle

Preparation

1 dough: 2 In a small pan heat milk to lukewarm. Remove from heat. 3 Add butter and stir till dissolved. Set aside to cool. 4 In a large bowl. Combine flour and salt. Add eggs and the butter mixture and knead until a dough forms. 5 Form a ball, wrap snd chill about 1 hour or until firm enough to work. 6 filling: 7 Soak the lentils over night, then cook until they’re tender, then drain and set aside. 8 In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over a medium flame. 9 Once hot, add peeled and chopped onion, minced garlic and diced pepper. 10 Cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the onions turn translucent. 11 Add cooked lentils, tomato paste, sliced olives and herbs. 12 Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat. 13 Assemble: 14 Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). 15 Roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness. 16 With an inverted 4-5-inch bowl trace the circle and cut a perfect round. 17 Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough circle, add a bit of parmesan cheese. 18 Fold the empanada in half and press the edges together firmly all the way around, lengthening and thinning them slightly as you press them together. 19 Turn over the edges and crimp with a teaspoon or fork to close. 20 Repeat with the remaining filling and wrappers. 21 Place on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 22 Brush each empanada’s top with beaten egg. Sprinkle with herbs. 23 Bake in preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes (until nicely brown).

About

Today I have something for vegetarians or Chilean food lovers! Empanada is stuffed pastry baked or fried in many countries as Latin Europe, Latin America, the Southwestern United States, and parts of Southeast Asia. Mine are Chilean, because I was consulting my recipe and ingredients with my friend – Gonzalo – who lives in Chile. Thanks to his advices I finally managed to bake them! (I know, they should look prettier, but the taste of them was good anyway ).  I wish you like the recipe, because it’s definitely worth a try!