Chicken Empanada Recipe

How To Cook Chicken Empanada Recipe

Chicken Empanada Recipe - An empanada Spanish pronunciation: also called pastel in Portuguese and pate in Haitian Creole is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries in Latin Europe, Latin America, the Southwestern United States, and parts of Southeast Asia. The name comes from the Galician, Portuguese, and Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.
Empanadas are made by folding dough or bread with stuffing consisting of a variety of meat, cheese, huitlacoche, vegetables, fruits, and others.Chicken Empanada is a type of pastry that is stuffed with chicken meat, potato, carrots, and sweet peas. This is made by placing the  filling in the middle of a flattened dough and sealing it by pinching and folding the edges. Similar types of Empanadas are also common in Spain and South America. In fact, the Cuban Picadillo almost resembles the Filipino Empanada in ingredients and taste.

Empanada can be fried or baked. This chicken empanada recipe is involves baking because it gives the crust more flaky texture. If you prefer your emapanada fried, you can always deep fry this chicken empanada.

Chicken Empanada Recipe INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
• 1 (8-ounce) package shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
• Water

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine the chicken and next 7 ingredients. Unroll 1 piecrust onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 15-inchcircle. Cut out rounds, using a 3-inch cookie cutter. Re-roll dough as needed.
3. Repeat procedure with remaining piecrusts, making 12 to 15 circles total. Arrange 1 round on a clean, flat surface. Lightly brush the edges of crust with water. Place 1 heaping teaspoon of chicken mixture in the center of the round. Fold the dough over the filling, pressing the edges with a fork to seal.
4. Repeat with the remaining rounds and chicken mixture. (Up to this point, the recipe can be made ahead and frozen for up to 1 month). Arrange empanadason the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Additional Information About Empanada

Origins

Empanadas trace back their origins to Portugal, and the northwest region of Spain, called Galicia, Spain.They first appeared in Portugal around the time of the establishment of trade routes to India and the establishment of a Portuguese Colony at Goa, and believed to have been derived or influenced by the Indian Gujia or Samosa, known in Lisbon as the Chamuça da Goa.They first appeared in medieval Iberia during the time of the Moorish invasions. A cookbook published in Catalan in 1520, Libre del Coch by Ruperto de Nola, mentions empanadas filled with seafood in the recipes for Catalan, Italian, French, and Arabian food. In turn, empanadas and the similar calzones are both believed to be derived from the Indian meat-filled pies, samosas. All these pastries have common origins: India and the Middle East. Source: Chicken Empanada

Source : Paula Deen via Food Network

Learn How To Cook Chicken Empanada Recipe