Stuffed

The gourmet eating club (also known as the grub club) that we belong to meets four times a year. Four couples have been doing this for 10 years and we have run the gamut on ethnic themes (well, almost) and have had dinners featuring colors like blue, orange, etc. This month the theme is “stuffed”. What a wonderful idea!


Every nation has a version of “stuffed” food, be it vegetables, meat, or even fruit; but especially dough. Think won-tons, ravioli, pirogi, tamales, crepes—an endless list.

It is an intriguing idea, since if a food is good on its own, how much better would it be if stuffed with another tasty ingredient or two?

Our contribution for this particular meeting of the club is the first course. We have four couples, four courses: appetizers, first course, main course and dessert. We just rotate in order so that we always know what we are to bring. The host and hostess decide the theme, but after that we are on our own.

First courses are traditionally soups, salads, pasta or fish. Pasta was my first thought, followed by a soup with a stuffed dough like tortellini or won ton. Then I happened on a TV. cooking show last week and they were making empanadas—south-of-the-border stuffed dough. They looked wonderful, but I had to make them my own, so off to the kitchen to experiment.

These empanadas are fussy to make, but I think they are worth it. The dough is deliciously flaky and tender with a twist from ordinary pastry. The filling is meaty and complex, but when we tasted the finished empanadas, we decided the myriad of ingredients were not as discernible as we hoped. Using the same basic flavors, we concocted a salsa to serve with the hot empanadas that gave them the special zing we were looking for. I say we, because for one of the first times Zig really got involved in the cooking end instead of just the tasting.

Empanadas a la Lynette and Zig

Filling

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 lb. 85% lean ground beef
1 slice white or Italian bread
2 Tbsp. chicken broth
1 ¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup finely chopped cilantro
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped
½ cup raisins
½ cup stuffed green olives, chopped
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar

Dough

1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup masa harina
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. cold butter
2 cups (more) unbleached flour
½ cup silver tequila
½ cup cold water
6 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

Start with filling: Heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet and add onions. Cook until barely brown. Meanwhile, in food processor, process bread and 2 Tbsp. chicken broth until it makes a paste; add meat, salt and pepper; pulse 6-8 times. Set aside.

To onions add garlic, cumin, cayenne and cloves, mixing well. Add meat mixture to skillet and saute until meat is brown. Add cilantro, eggs, raisins, olives and cider vinegar. Add up to ½ cup chicken broth until meat mixture is moist. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

To make dough: Pulse in processor the flour, masa harina, sugar and salt. Add the 12 Tbsp. cold butter and process-pulse until it is like coarse wet sand. Add 2 cups more flour, pulse and transfer to large bowl. Trickle the tequila and water over dough. With hands, push together until dough forms a firm ball. More water, a little at a time may be needed. Do not handle too much. Form into 2 discs and cut each into 12 sections. Form each section into ball and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Assembly and baking:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Shape each section into a 4” circle. Put 2 Tbsp. filling on one side of each circle. Brush edges with water. Fold over and press edges; trim. Using a fork, seal edges. Pour 2 Tbsp. olive oil into two large baking sheets with sides. Put them in the oven for 3 minutes. Remove and place empanadas in the pans. Brush with remaining 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Bake for 25 minutes, switching racks midway. Cool before serving. May be frozen and re-heated before serving.

Salsa

1 8-oz can diced tomatoes-with juice
1 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapeno peppers
½ cup chopped cilantro
¼- ½ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. sugar
½ cup dark raisins
1 ½ T. vinegar
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 large clove garlic, minced
½ large green pepper, chopped
½ large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. lime juice

Mix together in food processor; pulse 4-6 times (don’t over-do). Refrigerate until time to serve. Serve in a lettuce bed alongside empanadas.

The dinner (last night) was fabulous as always and, as always, we went away stuffed!