Chicken Pastel Empanada

Chicken Pastel Empanada

Makes 8  6-inch Empanadas

Ingredients

Empanada Pastry:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup beer (light beer)
• 1 egg, beaten (for the pastry)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (for dusting the work surface and rolling out the pastry)
• 1 egg, beaten (to use as an eggwash to brush the Empanadas with before baking)

Chicken Filling:

• 1 whole (uncooked) chicken breast, cut into small chunks
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (not table salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 cups par-boiled mixed vegetables (small diced carrots, sweet corn kernels, string beans, and broccoli florets separated into small pieces)
• 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• small pinch of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and white pepper according to taste
• 1 1/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

Instructions

For the Chicken Filling:

1. Marinate chicken pieces in Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and white pepper. Let it marinate for 15 minutes inside the fridge.
2. Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Gently saute the garlic.
3. Once the garlic is soft, add the chicken into the pan and saute for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
4. Add the 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for about a minute just to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add the evaporated milk, Dijon mustard and a small pinch of nutmeg and stir the bechamel sauce.
5. Mix in the par-boiled vegetables and cook in the sauce until tender and finally add the grated gruyere cheese. Season with salt and white pepper according to taste. Turn off heat and set the pan aside.

For the Empanada Pastry: 

1. Pre-heat oven to 375’F.
2. Sift together the 4 cups of flour, sugar and salt.
3. Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture.
4. When the butter is well incorporated into the flour (mixture resembles fine bread crumbs), add the beer and pre-beaten egg.
5. Gather and form the pastry mixture into a ball of dough. This dough does not require resting.
6. Turn out the dough onto a well floured work surface and divide the dough in halves. Form each halve into a fat cylinder and cut and divide into 4 pieces (8 Empanadas for this recipe).
7. Roll out and flatten each piece of dough into 1/4 inch thick disk.
8. Put about a heaping serving spoon of chicken mixture on the half side of the rolled out pastry. Fold the other half over and run your fingers around the folded dough, and over the mound of filling to seal the dough together and get rid of air pockets inside the pastry.
9. Using a rolling pastry cutter, trim the edges off the Empanada. Then using a fork, crimp the edges to totally seal the pastry pocket.
10. Place the empanadas onto a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with an eggwash. Using a fork, prick the surface of each piece once to create an air vent.
11. Bake empanadas in a 375’F oven for 40-45 minutes or until these pastries are golden brown.

Content and Image by Jeannie Maristela-Gust