Greening Austin Daily

Recipe Tuesday–Swiss Chard, Beet, and Goat Cheese Empanadas

1st June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments

I got a Greenling box last week, and there were a bunch of fun veggies in it, like beets and swiss chard. I like using up more than one vegetable in a recipe, so I just googled a few of the veggies I had and found this tasty recipe. Click over there to see beautiful pictures (that I could never hope to duplicate) of this recipe–they definitely made me want to make it! I’ve never attempted empanadas before, but it wasn’t too difficult, even though it does take a bit more effort than your standard dump and stir recipe. I couldn’t find any pre-made empanada discs, so I just used some pastry dough from Whole Foods, and it turned out really flaky and buttery and delicious. For the goat cheese, I used the local Cheesy Girl brand, also found at WF, in the Italian herbs flavor. The woman who invented this recipe recommends making a sauce for the empanadas, but I think the goat cheese I used was enough added flavor. I had extra filling at the end, and it was good enough to eat on its own. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 medium size or 20 small empanada discs (use homemade empanada dough for baking or store bought)

4 small beets, peeled, boiled until tender and diced

1 bunch of swiss chard, chopped

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

½ white onion, sliced

2 tbs olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbs finely chopped fresh oregano

1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked

Salt to taste

Serve with: Spicy mint crème fraiche sauce

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
2. Add the chopped swiss chard and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from the heat, cool down and mix with the diced beets, crumbled goat cheese and chopped oregano.
4. To assemble the empanadas spoon the stuffing on to the center of each empanada disc.
5. Brush the inside edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, this is will help them seal better and keep the filling from leaking while baking .
6. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.
7. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give a nice golden glow when they bake.
8. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes, this will help them seal better and prevent leaks.
9. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
10. Serve warm.