How to Cook Sausage Empanadas

Makes: 12

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Ingredients needed to make Sausage Empanadas:

For the filling:

• 8 oz sausages
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• ¾ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 3 ½ fl oz beef stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and freshly  ground black pepper to taste

For the pastry:

• 8 oz all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 ¾ oz milk
• 2 ¾ oz chilled butter, diced
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• Dash of salt to taste

For serving:

• Sweet chili sauce, as required

Cooking instructions for Sausage Empanadas:

• To make the filling, peel the casing of the sausages and remove the meat from it; throw away the skin.
• Pour oil in a frying pan to heat it over moderate flame and throw in the garlic as well as onions.
• Stir-fry the mixture for about 4-5 minutes or until they soften.
• Stir in the sausage meat and continue to saute the  mixture for about 4-5 minutes or until they brown evenly; keep stirring it often all this time.
• Dump the carrots into the sauteed mixture and pour in the tomato puree.
• Sprinkle the chili and cocoa powder over them before stirring them all together and cook further for about 4-5 minutes.
• Pour in the stock and heat the mixture until it starts boiling.
• Lower the heat and let it simmer for another 25 minutes; add a dash of salt and black pepper to taste and give it a nice stir before removing from heat.
• To make the pastry, add the chili flakes, turmeric and salt to the flour and transfer the mixture to the bowl of food processor.
• Plop in the diced butter and process them into a uniform mixture with crumble-like texture.
• Add a splash of milk to it, followed by the egg yolk and continue to process the mixture until it gathers together and forms a dough.
• Dust a flat working surface with flour and place the dough on it.
• Knead it for several minutes and then cover it with a plastic sheet before setting it aside in a refrigerator for 1 hour to chill.
• Meanwhile, warm up your oven to 400 degrees F and beat the egg slightly in a separate bowl; set aside.
• Unwrap the dough and return it to the lightly floured surface.
• Roll it out into a semi-thick flat rectangle and carve out twelve 4’’ wide circles.
• Place a tsp of the filling in the middle of each round and paint the edges along one half of each circle with the beaten egg.
• Fold the other half over the filling and press the open edges together firmly to seal; make rest of the empanadas in a similar fashion.
• Arrange them on a baking dish and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes or until they turn golden brown and the filling is heated through.
• Serve the empanadas with sweet chili dipping sauce.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons