Corn Empanadas

By David Tanis

Corn Empanadas
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(269)
Comments
Read comments

Back in 2013, David Tanis learned to make several versions of empanadas from his friend Fernando Trocca, an Argentine chef, including one filled with sweet corn. Here, Mr. Tanis uses potatoes, peppers and ham, in addition to corn, to fill the handmade dough. It’s not a quick project, but it yields dividends and the satisfaction of pulling dozens of the small pies out of the oven.

Featured in: Empanadas, the Pies With a Passport

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Ingredients

Yield:36 empanadas

    For the Dough

    • 4ounces lard or butter, plus more for brushing tops
    • 1½teaspoons fine sea salt
    • About 6 cups/750 grams all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

    For the Filling

    • Lard or olive oil, or a combination, for sautéing
    • 1cup diced onion
    • ½pound potatoes, peeled and diced
    • 2cups fresh corn kernels
    • 2garlic cloves, mashed to a paste
    • 1teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
    • 2teaspoons chopped thyme
    • Salt and pepper
    • Chicken broth as necessary, or use water
    • 2red bell peppers, roasted till blackened, then peeled and diced
    • 1cup diced cooked ham or Canadian bacon (optional)
    • ½cup ricotta
    • Large pinch of cayenne
    • 2ounces grated Gruyère cheese
    • ½cup chopped scallions, white and green parts
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (36 servings)

198 calories; 11 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 5 grams protein; 187 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the dough: Put 2 cups boiling water, 4 ounces lard and 1½ teaspoons salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to melt lard and dissolve salt. Cool to room temperature.

  2. Step 2

    Gradually stir in flour with a wooden spoon until dough comes together. Knead for a minute or two on a floured board, until firm and smooth. Add more flour if sticky. Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

  3. Step 3

    Make the filling: Melt 3 tablespoons lard in a wide heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook briskly, stirring, until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add potatoes, corn, garlic, cumin and thyme. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir well. Add about 1 cup broth or water and simmer until potatoes are softened and liquid has evaporated, about 5 to 7 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add roasted peppers, ham, ricotta and cayenne and stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning for full flavor (intensity will diminish upon cooling). Stir in Gruyère and scallions. Cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

  5. Step 5

    Divide chilled dough into 1-ounce pieces and form into 2-inch diameter balls. Roll each piece into a 4½-inch circle. Lay circles on a baking sheet lightly dusted with flour.

  6. Step 6

    Moisten outer edge of each round with water. Put about 2 tablespoons filling in the center of each round. Wrap dough around filling to form empanada, pressing edges together. Fold edge back and finish by pinching little pleats or crimping with a fork.

  7. Step 7

    Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place empanadas on parchment-lined or oiled baking sheet, about 1 inch apart. Brush tops lightly with lard or butter and bake on top shelf of oven until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Tip
  • Dough and filling may each be prepared a day or two in advance. The empanadas may be assembled several hours ahead of time and refrigerated, uncovered. Bring to room temperature before baking.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
269 user ratings
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Comments

Theresa Farley

Try this recipe for the dough: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/empanada-dough-230786

CCPotter

The filling for these empanadas is scrumptious. It's a keeper for sure. The dough not so much. I prefer a flaky pastry for empanadas. This was more cardboard like and thin. I used frozen organic corn and it worked perfectly. Double the prep time and cooking time as well.

cook.bot

Roll out 36 individual balls of dough? Not me. I divide the dough in half, roll each half out about 1/4" thick, and punch out circles with a 4" or 5" bowl. Works like a charm. And the filling is delish -- never had a David Tanis recipe fail me yet in the veg department.

Charles

These are good, but as someone suggested, a flaky pastry (or a Russian sour-cream pastry) might be more flavorful. They freeze well, which is a nice thing is you want a quick appetizer (defrost the day before). Also, you get a nicer color if you brush with diluted egg yolk

Kristie

Made dough exactly per recipe and it was easy to work with and tasted great. Brushing with an egg wash and baking at 400 degrees on top shelf for 25 minutes browned them nicely. I added a little extra ricotta and Gruyere and skipped the ham. Delicious!

Erin

The beef empanada recipe on NYT Cooking is better than this corn version. The corn filling is just ok for me. Once baked, the empanadas were meh overall, especially compared to the beef variety. I found that a pasta roller expedited the dough rolling process. I’ll keep looking for a solid veggie filling option.

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