Shredded Chicken and Pepper Empanadas
Well, I don’t think I would call this one low carb but its not high carb. It is delicious and a pretty simple dinner idea. This was an amalgamation of a few different ideas brought together through hungered inspiration.
Lets start with the Dough
I used a pretty simple recipe here, nothing fancy, but it turned out great.
- 1.5 sticks of butter
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons of kosher salt
- 1 egg
- 1.5-2 cups cold water (start low and add if you need to)
Mix all of these ingredients in a food processor and pulse them until the dough is nice and soft. Don’t over mix and add more water as needed. I dumped this out onto a floured surface and kneaded it a few times. I then divided, froze half of the dough for later, and then used a rolling pin to roll out my dough into a really thin sheet; about an 1/8 inch thickness. I would occasionally flip the dough and dust with flour to keep it from sticking to everything.
Once the Dough is evenly rolled out I found about a 6 inch diameter bowl and cut out six rounds to use in my empanadas. I stacked them with a dusting of flour in between each layer.
The Filling
I happen to make this part way ahead of time, not anticipating that I would use it for an empanada, but it really worked out well. I took a few short cuts on spices but feel free to mix it up however you want.
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small cubes)
- 2 packages of your favorite chicken taco seasoning (spice short cut)
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 poblano pepper
- 1 green pepper
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz of tomato sauce
I chopped all the peppers and onion and tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper. I then roasted them on a sheet pan at 475 degrees for about 20-25 minutes in the oven. You will want them to roast so they are slightly charred. Place them into a slow cooker after you take them out of the oven.
Saute the chicken in some olive oil until slightly browned, add the taco seasoning and water and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Mix well and then relocate to the slow cooker with the veggies.
I turned the slow cooker on low and mixed the chicken and peppers together with the tomato sauce and let cook for about 2 hours. I would occasionally mix and shred the chicken as I felt it needed it.
The Assembly
Take a 6 inch dough round and place about 2-3 tablespoons of chicken mixture into the center of the dough. Use your fingers or a brush to dampen the edge of the empanada dough and then fold over in half to create a pocket. I then used a fork to add texture and help the edges stick together. there is an empanada folding technique out there but this worked just fine for me. I placed on a sheet pan with parchment paper (6 thus) and then refrigerated for about 20 minutes. I then brushed an egg wash over the top sides of each one and baked in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes until golden brown.
The dipping sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup onions or shallots
- 1 ripe avocado, halved, pitted, and removed from skin
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/3 red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion in butter and then place in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. I chilled and served on the side with the empanadas.
The Side Dish
I simply mixed a bag of riced carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli from Fresh Thyme and added some frozen corn. I roasted them in a cast iron skillet with butter and my favorite Mexican spices and finished with some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime at the end. Add as much as you like to taste. I love this stuff.
Conclusion
This was a super tasty meal. I had honestly never even eaten an empanada and certainly never made one. I was really happy with the result and will definite make these again. I can imagine filling these little pockets with lots of fun ingredients. I can’t wait to try them again.