Easy Empanadas

 

When people complain about the weather here, I'm usually one of those annoying natives that says, "I like the rain." But Seattle's average temp so far this June has been 58, and that's just not OK. My plan has been to conjure Summer by cooking food that makes me think of warmer climates. Enter empanadas. They are so easy to make (don't ask me if this is authentic) and very adaptable to whatever is in season, whatever you're craving, or whatever happens to be in the back of the fridge about to go bad. The meat in this is highly optional. We're planning a batch with pizza toppings inside.

Empanadas
serves 2 for dinner, more as an appetizer

Dough:
2 cups all purpose Flour
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 stick butter (cut into small pieces)
1/2 c cold water

Filling:
1/2 a large yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 pound beef (or maybe mushrooms or beans)
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t paprika
2 T fresh oregano
cayenne and salt to taste
1 T tomato paste
3 cups hearty greens (kale, chard, spinach), cut into bite-sized pieces.

First make the dough (or substitute frozen pie crust):

• In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add cold water and mix with a wooden spoon so the dough comes together.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead  2 or 3 times to form a smooth ball. 
• Flatten with the heel of your hand then roll out to a thin sheet (about 1/8 inch thick).
• Cut into circles with a bowl or cup (depending on what size you want).

Then make the filling:

• Saute the onions and garlic in a little olive oil. When they've just started to brown, add the meat (either ground beef or a steak cut into small pieces). Cook until the meat is just done (about 5 minutes).
• Add the tomato paste and spices and cook until things start to stick. Then add the greens and all their moisture will make things unstick (or add a smidge of water if this doesn't work).
• Cook the greens for about 5 minutes. You want the filling to be moist, but not too wet.

Now assemble the empanadas:

• Put a little filling on half of each dough circle. I've learned (from many empanadas that wouldn't close) to start with half as much filling as I think it will take.
• Dip your finger in a cup of water and use that to wet the edge of the dough. This will help it stick when you fold over and pinch or fork the edges closed. 
• I haven't tried it yet, but I've heard that these freeze really well at this stage. You don't even need to thaw them, just take them out of the freezer and continue.

• If you want, you can beat an egg and brush this on the tops of the sealed empanadas. Then bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown. Serve with hot sauce, chimichurri, homemade sour cream, or whatever you like.

Chimichurri

Chimichurri is sort of South American pesto. I don't remember how I discovered it - maybe a birthday of Mom's years ago when we went to the Buenos Aires Grill - but now I'm totally obsessed with it. I want to eat it not just on red meat, which is traditional, but on chicken and pork chops and salad and pasta salad and chips and sandwiches. It's acidic and spicy and freshy and I started eating it with a spoon last night and sort of made myself sick. But the point is, make this and I hope you'll love it too.

Chimichurri
makes about 1/2 a cup, which is plenty because this is very flavorful stuff

2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups (loosely packed) parsley
2 cups (loosely packed) cilantro
2 T fresh oregano (or 1 T dried)
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/2 t smoked paprika
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt to taste

• If you're pressed for time use a food processor to blend everything together (do the garlic first, then dump all the rest in), but it's a little more authentic if you just chop everything really small and mix it together in a bowl. Let it sit for about half an hour to get all the flavors together.
• If you know that you don't like things that are very acidic, hold back on half of the lemon and vinegar and add them bit by bit to taste.

Beef Stroganoff

Now that I know how to make a real, yummy, sort of fancy,  Beef Stroganoff I never make the simple Hamburger Stroganoff that I grew up with. Partly it's because I don't do recipes that require a can of Cream of Anything Soup (too many mysterious ingredients), but it's also because now that I know this version, even nostalgia can't make me crave the other one. That's my warning: you might never go back. This isn't the simplest recipe I know, but it is one of my most favorite comfort foods to make at home. In the steps below I've include a way to short-cut things if you just don't feel like dealing with making a roux.

Beef Stroganoff

serves 4

printable version

3/4 pound Crimini mushrooms (or white button), sliced

1 1/2 pound top sirloin cut into bite-sized strips

1 yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 T butter

2 T flour

1 1/2 cups beef stock

1 T Dijon mustard

5 T sour cream

1 T paprika

1 t dill

serve with:

  1 pound egg noodles tossed in butter and a pinch of salt

• Melt 2 T of butter in a high-sided frying pan. Toss the beef with salt & pepper. Cook hot & quick in the butter just until the edges are brown. Remove to a bowl leaving as much butter and juices in the pan.
• Add the onions and mushrooms to the pan. Add a little more butter or oil if needed, but try not to. Mushrooms will dry out the pan at first, but then they start to release all their juices and you'll be fine.
• When the mushrooms have started to brown, add the garlic and cook until it is just starting to brown as well. Add this all to the bowl with the beef (this time getting the pan as clean as possible).
• Now make a roux to thicken the sauce: melt 2 T of butter in the pan and sprinkle it with 2 T flour. Whisk it well until it starts to brown (I like it medium brown, just about the color of caramel). Add the beef stock in a steady stream while whisking like crazy.
  
• Whisk in the sour cream, mustard, dill, and paprika.
• Add all the reserved ingredients and adjust the salt & pepper.

Shortcut:

• Cook the beef, mushrooms, onions, and garlic together until the beef is cooked through and the mushrooms are tender.
• Add the paprika, dill, half the stock, and half the sour cream. Mix well.
• Add more sour cream and stock until it is a consistency and flavor you like (without the flour-butter roux it won't be as thick and rich, but it's still yummy).
  

Thai-ish Beef Salad

There is something about this dinner that screams Summer to me. Yes, it's grilled and that's a warm-weather activity. It's also on the lighter side, focusing mostly on fresh flavors, and that's Summery too. More than anything I think it's the combination of herbs - cilantro, basil, parsley minced fine and tossed with the greens - that conjures a tropical/not-Seattle setting. We've come to associate these flavors with an improvement in the weather. It would be sort of sacrilegious to call this Thai Beef Salad because it only hints at what a real Thai Salad should be. Try adding a dash of fish sauce to make it more authentic. The recipe makes enough dressing for the marinade and the salad itself and feeds about four people. It's also great as a dipping sauce for potstickers.

For the dressing & marinade:
2 T soy sauce (low-sodium)
1 t sesame oil
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil (or other non-olive oil)
juice of 2 limes
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t five spice
1/2 t mustard powder
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t black pepper
Sri Racha to taste (or other hot sauce)

• Start by putting everything except the oil in a deep measuring cup or Cuisinart. I use the dried spices on purpose because I like the consistency, but you can substitute a little more fresh ginger and a little less mustard from a jar, no problem.
• Add the oil and blend it all to death. There's more acid than oil in this dressing so I think it would be impossible to blend it too much.
• Set aside about a 1/2 cup for the final salad and use the rest for the marinade. Or, if you're skipping the meat, the extra will keep in the fridge for at least a week (maybe two - just taste it, nothing in this will hurt you if it has gone bad).
  

Grilling Instructions:
the rest of the marinade from above
1 flank steak (about 1 and 1/2 pounds)

• Put the meat in a large ziplock bag with the marinade for about an hour. Squidge around the marinade about halfway through to be sure the meat is well coated.
• When you're ready to eat, prepare the grill (gas or charcoal).
• Let the marinade drip off the meat before you put it on the clean & oiled grill.
• Grill the meat for about 7 to 10 minutes per side.
• When it's done to your preference (medium-rare please) set it aside to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing thin.
  

For the Salad itself:
1 head of Romaine
1 red pepper
1 cucumber
2 carrots (or about a handful of those fake baby carrots)
1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup basil (Thai if you can find it), minced
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
just a bit of Italian parsley, minced

• To assemble the salad just prep the Romaine and veggies however you like them (I sometimes get all crazy with julienne-ing, but that's optional).
• Toss the greens, herbs, and dressing in a large bowl.
• You can either sprinkle the toppings on each salad or set them all on the table in colorful bowls for people to serve themselves (it makes a pretty table setting).