Empanadas make a deliciously different lunch or dinner and need nothing more than a crisp green salad on the side. They’re also perfect for parties, right at home with other hot or cold appetizers. To make this recipe more quickly, substitute Mexican-style chorizo for the meat mixture. If you prefer, you can bake the empanadas instead of frying them.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with this easy-to-make recipe for Chorizo & Cheese Empanadas with Avocado Crema.
1. Info for Chorizo & Cheese Empanadas with Avocado Crema
- Cook Time: 2 hr 25 min
- Total Time: 2 hr 25 min
- Servings: 48
- Calories:
2. Ingredients for Chorizo & Cheese Empanadas with Avocado Crema
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 pasilla chile peppers, or other mild dried red chiles*
- 1 guajillo chile pepper, or other mild dried red chile*
- 1 onion, cut into large chunks
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pound queso blanco, or other mild, semi-hard cheese, grated
- Empanada dough , or store-bought empanada shells to make about 48 6-inch or 64 5-inch empanadas**
- All-purpose flour , for the work surface
- About 6 cups canola oil
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and quartered
- 1 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoon sour cream
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt to taste
3. Directions:
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, toast the chiles (pasilla and guajillo), turning occasionally, until blistered and fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a bowl of hot water, cover and set aside for 15 minutes.
- Remove the chiles from the water and stem and seed them. Place the chiles, 1 onion, 4 Tbs vinegar, and 2 cloves garlic in the bowl of a food processor or the jar of a blender and process to purée, scraping down the bowl or jar as needed.
- Transfer the chile mixture to a large bowl and add the ground pork, 1 Tbs paprika, 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp coriander, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon, mixing until well combined. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the pork mixture, breaking it up with a spoon or spatula, until no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, combine avocado, cilantro, sour cream, lime juice, and 1 Tbs olive oil and process to purée, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add salt to taste and set aside in the refrigerator.
- Stir the queso blanco cheese into the pork mixture. Arrange a 5- or 6-inch round of empanada dough or an empanada shell on a lightly floured work surface. Spoon 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of pork mixture on top, moisten the edges of the shell with water, and fold the shell over the filling, pressing it with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining shells and pork mixture, flouring the work surface as necessary.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Arrange two or three paper towel-lined baking sheets in the oven.
- Pour canola oil into a large, heavy saucepan or small stockpot to 1-inch deep and warm it to 350 degrees F. over medium heat. Cook the empanadas in batches, turning occasionally and adjusting the heat to main 350 degrees F., until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to the prepared baking sheets to keep warm.
- Serve the empanadas with the avocado crema on the side.
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