Recipe

Chicken Sausage, Black Bean & Goat Cheese Empanada

Photo by bethmichelle

This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Dumplings
Chef
bethmichelle's Notes: I started thinking on what I could make to fit this weeks challenge category. I remembered back to when I was at the University of Miami living among the vibrant, colorful and fun culture...
I started thinking on what I could make to fit this weeks challenge category. I remembered back to when I was at the University of Miami living among the vibrant, colorful and fun culture of Latin America. Sipping Cuban coffee in little Havana and munching on empanadas from various Latin American backgrounds. I dug up an empanada dough recipe that a friend of mine in Miami gave me, that his mother used. I decided to fill mine with my own creation of filling (ingredients I had on hand in the house!) rather then the traditional. But, that is what is so great about this hand held savory food, you can fill it with whatever your hearts desire! I also opted to bake rather then fry my empanadas as to keep the calories and fat a bit lower, and they were just as delicious!

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Prepare the empanada dough by beating water, egg, egg white and vinegar together in a small bowl and set aside.
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In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt and add the butter to the flour and mix using a wooden spoon or your hands (like me) until evenly mixed.
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Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and pour the liquid mixture into the center and mix dry and wet ingredients together until it becomes stiff and dough like.
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Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until all the flour is incorporated and dough is smooth.
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Shape dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
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Preheat oven to 400F
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Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a medium pan over medium high heat and add onion, garlic and jalapeno to pan and saute until onions become translucent and veggies are tender, about 5-7 minutes.
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Add cumin, paprika and salt and pepper to taste and cook for a minute more.
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Add beans and chicken sausage and cook until heated through.
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Remove from heat and crumble goat cheese into mixture stirring to combine.
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Roll out chilled dough and using a large circular cookie cutter (or the mouth of a large mug-like me) cut circles out of dough.
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Place 1/2 Tablespoon of mixture into center of the circle.
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Fold in half, making sure the mixture stays inside the dough and crimp sides shut with a fork.
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Place stuffed empanadas on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown and crisp.
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