In 2014, I set off on a multi-month food tour, to write several articles for Taste & Travel magazine on various food movements and regions of the USA. On my very first day in the States, I was connected with Francisca Rodriguez, who I had been told made some of the best empanadas on the West Coast. She is an inspiring woman, full of stories of the old days when she worked at the Berkeley Food Collective with her Chilean husband. Francisca, hailing from Mexican heritage, and her fellow Latin American colleagues at the Berkeley Food Collective, each added a distinctive Latin American recipe to the menu. Among them, Francisca acquired the art of crafting empanadas, mastering both the Chilean and Argentinian styles through collaboration with her coworkers.
Francisca was in Berkeley during a time of great change. Food movements were cropping up all over the country, but in the seventies and eighties, Berkeley was a hotspot for food activists, locavores, sustainability champions, and chefs who delighted in local, organic produce such as pioneering Alice Waters.
Berkeley was (and still is, to a degree) full of community spirit – a free exchange of thought, ideas, ideals, philosophies, food, art… It is a way of life that I agree with – sharing of what is important. What you think, what you feel, what you do, how you act.
This early exchange of food, friends, and recipes at the collective seemed to be a shaping and important part of Francisca’s life. And without that cultural exchange, I wouldn’t have begun my life in the USA baking Latin American pastries. Francisca showed me how to mix, knead, and shape the dough, and showed me a typical chicken, onion, olive, and egg filling, and one of her specialties: potato and cheese.
Later on in life, Francisca used to sell empanadas out of a food cart at the University of Wisconsin. She tells how the quality of food you made won you the best spots along the avenue leading into the University. Of course – she was always in one of the top spots.
Her empanada dough is perfect – soft from the oil, but with enough resistance in bite to hold in the hearty fillings. Empanadas can be baked or fried, but Argentinian and Chilean empanadas are usually baked and made with wheat flour.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Add the boiling water and oil, and with a big wooden spoon mix until it all comes together in a cohesive mass.
*Note about flour: In the USA and some other countries, plain wheat flour often contains barley flour. You *must* find a pure wheat flour for this recipe, as the dough will not work otherwise.
Turn out onto a floured bench and knead until dough becomes a smooth ball. Return to the bowl dusted with flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for ten minutes.
Separate out the dough into balls of 70 grams each, and then roll out in a circle to 1/8 inch thickness.
You can use whatever cheese you like – we used Argentinian queijo and a jalapeno cheddar mix.
Peel, cube, and boil potatoes. Drain and mash, then mash all ingredients together and mix until the cheese has melted through.
Fry spices in 3 tablespoons corn oil until fragrant, add chicken and seal. Add the other tablespoon of oil and the onions, and let cook over low heat until onions have cooked down about 30-40%.
Add parsley, cook for a minute or two, and then add flour and water to thicken. Stir and cook over heat for another 5 minutes.
Boil the eggs, cut into slices (each into about 8).
Deposit a dollop of filling in the middle of each rolled out piece of dough, and then brush around the edges with water so it will stick. Each chicken empanada should have a large dollop of chicken filling, one egg slice, an olive or two and a couple of raisins.
Fold over the dough so that it creates a half moon shape, and press the edges together. Starting from one side, fold the edges up over each other, overlapping, to create a ruffled edge.
Brush tops with beaten egg, prick with a knife, and place on a greased and floured baking tray and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350ºF/180ºC until golden brown on top and lightly crispy.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix all of the dry ingredients together. Add the boiling water and oil, and with a big wooden spoon mix until it all comes together in a cohesive mass.
*Note about flour: In the USA and some other countries, plain wheat flour often contains barley flour. You *must* find a pure wheat flour for this recipe, as the dough will not work otherwise.
Turn out onto a floured bench and knead until dough becomes a smooth ball. Return to the bowl dusted with flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for ten minutes.
Separate out the dough into balls of 70 grams each, and then roll out in a circle to 1/8 inch thickness.
You can use whatever cheese you like – we used Argentinian queijo and a jalapeno cheddar mix.
Peel, cube, and boil potatoes. Drain and mash, then mash all ingredients together and mix until the cheese has melted through.
Fry spices in 3 tablespoons corn oil until fragrant, add chicken and seal. Add the other tablespoon of oil and the onions, and let cook over low heat until onions have cooked down about 30-40%.
Add parsley, cook for a minute or two, and then add flour and water to thicken. Stir and cook over heat for another 5 minutes.
Boil the eggs, cut into slices (each into about 8).
Deposit a dollop of filling in the middle of each rolled out piece of dough, and then brush around the edges with water so it will stick. Each chicken empanada should have a large dollop of chicken filling, one egg slice, an olive or two and a couple of raisins.
Fold over the dough so that it creates a half moon shape, and press the edges together. Starting from one side, fold the edges up over each other, overlapping, to create a ruffled edge.
Brush tops with beaten egg, prick with a knife, and place on a greased and floured baking tray and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350ºF/180ºC until golden brown on top and lightly crispy.