Recipe by Lynfred Brand Ambassador Laura Lorenz
Ingredients
(empanadas)
½ lb ground pork chorizo (raw)*
½ cup yellow onion, chopped
3 cups russet potato, diced small (roughly 1 large potato/ ½” dice) *
2 Tbsp oil (high temperature oil such as vegetable, canola, avocado)
2 eggs + 1 egg for egg wash
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
¼ tsp ground ancho chili powder
4 premade refrigerated pie crusts
Flour for rolling out dough
Grated cotija cheese
(poblano cream sauce)
1 cup roasted poblanos, seeded and chopped (roughly 1 ½ large poblanos)
⅔ cups sour cream
⅓ cup mayo
1 small garlic clove, chopped
¼ -½ cup cilantro*
¼ tsp cumin
½ large lime, juiced
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Directions
For the filling:
Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add the potatoes and cook for 10–12 minutes, until just tender.
While the potatoes cook, place a separate pan over medium-low heat. Add the chorizo and ancho powder, cooking for 5–7 minutes.
Reduce the heat under the potatoes to medium. Stir in the onion and jalapeño, and cook for 5–7 minutes, until the onion begins to soften.
Add the chorizo mixture to the potatoes, onions, and jalapeños. Cook together over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Crack in one egg at a time, stirring to scramble into the mixture. Once both eggs are cooked
through, remove from the heat and let the filling cool to room temperature.
For the poblano cream sauce:
In a blender, combine all the sauce ingredients except the salt and pepper. Blend on high until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the empanadas:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out a pie crust to about ⅛-inch thick. Using a 5-inch round cutter (a plastic lid works too), cut out 5 circles, re-rolling the dough as needed. Repeat with the remaining crusts.
Place about 1 ½ tablespoons of filling in the center of each dough circle, then sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of grated cotija cheese. Fold the dough in half over the filling and press the edges with a fork to seal.
Arrange the empanadas on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush the tops with beaten egg, then pierce each one with a knife or fork to vent. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve the empanadas alongside the poblano cream sauce for dipping.
Tips
*There are two main types of chorizos—Mexican and Spanish. For this recipe, be sure to use Mexican chorizo, which is raw, rather than the cured Spanish variety.
*Dice your potatoes no larger than ½ inch. Larger pieces may poke through the dough, making sealing difficult.
*If you love cilantro, use ½ cup in the poblano cream sauce. For a milder flavor, ¼ cup works beautifully.
*From one pie crust, you should get about five 5-inch rounds. You can also make smaller empanadas (around 4 inches), just be sure to reduce the amount of filling slightly.