My son is an empanada lover! Its tough to find gluten free empanadas at restaurants and the grocery store, so I told myself, I have to figure out how to make them at home. It only took me 4 attempts….
After altering many recipes I found online, I finally found the secret ingredient: Tapioca flour!
Of course, tapioca flour since its spongey and adds a little something to all baked goods. I have to applaud Krazy Kids 4 Healthy Cooking since they gave me the idea.
Recipe:
Makes approximately 15 Beef , 30 Pumpkin
Beef Filling:
2 Tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
Ground salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Pumpkin Pecan:
30oz pumpkin puree
1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Dough: (2x for Pumpkin)
1 ½ cups masa corn flour
1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/2 cups Hot water
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. add the beef, salt, pepper, turmeric, cumin, ginger, and parsley. Cook about 10 minutes or until desired pinkness is gone from beef.
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Prepare the dough by combining both flours, baking soda, and salt. Add oil and mix. Add hot water and mix until able to form a ball.
Scoop 1-2 Tablespoon dough and place in tortilla maker. I recommend covering both the top and bottom of the inside of the tortilla press with parchment paper to prevent stickiness. Do not put oil or butter on the tortilla press as it will make it too moist. What if I dont have a tortilla press? Take a plate and cover it with parchment paper, place dough ball on one half of paper and fold the paper over to sandwich it in and press with your hands to flatten.
With each circle of empanada dough flattened out, fill in one half with a 1-2 teaspoon of meat filling. Fold the other half of dough over the filled half and seal.
Any leftover meat, serve as a side on a salad.
Place each filled empanada on a greased baking sheet and into the oven for 25 minutes or until the tops of the dough are light brown and firm. Allow to cool. Serve and enjoy with my Chilean Inspired Guacamole or my Cauliflower Hummus (photo below, recipe to post soon).
Place any leftovers in the refrigerator or pack for school lunch. They are great for little fingers to pick up and nibble !
Mini fresh tortillas recipe:
Mix ingredients for dough above and flatten like dough above.
Heat a skillet on high with canola oil so the pan is covered and 1/4 inch in depth. Lower heat to medium low. You will know if its too hot if the tortilla immediately begins to burn. Place flatten dough one at a time in oil and cook for 30 seconds, then flip and cook for 30 seconds and cook for 30 seconds, then flip and cook for 30 seconds. Yes a total of 4 times 30 seconds!
Place on paper towel to drain oil. Continue with the remaining dough. Allow to cool. Enjoy immediately a la carte or with your favorite dip. They will not save well for later.
