Argentine Spinach Empanadas
Argentine-style baked empanadas filled with spinach, cheese and peppers.
Ingredients
| 500 g | Flour (for the dough) | |
| 1 cup | 240 ml | Milk |
| 2 | Eggs | |
| 50 g | Olive oil (or 50 g sunflower oil, 3 spoons butter or coconut oil) | |
| 1 pinch | Salt | |
| 1 pinch | Sugar | |
| 1 tsp | 5 ml | Baking powder |
| 500 g | Spinach | |
| 1 | Red pepper | |
| 100 g | Soft white cheese or curd (izvara) | |
| several spoons | Fat – olive oil or sunflower oil | |
| 2 | Garlic cloves | |
| 1/2 | Onion | |
| — | Nutmeg | |
| — | Salt | |
| — | Paprika | |
| — | Black pepper | |
| 1/2 cup | 120 ml | Milk (for the filling) |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | White flour (for the filling) |
Instructions
Dough: Knead a soft dough from the flour, milk, eggs, olive oil (or 50 g sunflower oil, three spoons of butter or coconut oil), a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar and the baking powder. Let it rest about half an hour.
Filling: If using frozen spinach, thaw it and drain it well.
- Chop the onion and red pepper finely and fry them a little.
- Chop the garlic finely, add it and fry a little more. Add a little red pepper (paprika).
- Add the drained spinach and let it cook a few minutes. Add the crumbled soft white cheese or curd (izvara).
- In a separate bowl combine one full spoon of white flour and 1/2 cup of milk. Mix well and add to the spinach. Keep stirring until the mixture thickens. Season with nutmeg, salt and black pepper to taste.
- Let the prepared mixture cool.
- Divide the dough into balls slightly larger than a walnut. Roll each ball into a thin round and place a teaspoon of the spinach filling in its center. Fold one edge of the round over and press with your fingers to seal.
- Bake the empanadas in an oven preheated to 220°C for 20 minutes, until they lightly brown.
Note: You can freeze the empanadas raw. When you want them, take them out, arrange in a greased tray and bake them straight from frozen.