Chorizo-empanadas

Deur Barbara Joubert

Foto’s: Micky Hoyle Galery

(about 16 empanadas)

Dough

450 g (800 ml) cake flour
2 ml salt
240 g (260 ml) butter
60 to 90 ml cold water

Put the flour in your food processor. Add the salt and butter and process until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the water a little at a time until a firm dough forms. Cover the dough with clingwrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Filling

15 ml olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
3 spring onions, chopped
1 chorizo sausage, diced very finely
1 can chopped tomatoes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
80 g cheddar, grated
1 egg, beaten

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic, spring onions and chorizo. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens. Spoon into a bowl and allow to cool. Add the cheddar when the sauce has cooled. Preheat your oven to 180 °C. Roll the dough until quite thin on a surface sprinkled with flour. Cut circles of 8 to 10 cm. Brush the edge of each circle with beaten egg. Spoon a large teaspoonful of the filling onto one half of each circle. Fold the dough into a half-moon shape. Place the empanadas on a buttered baking tray and brush them with beaten egg. Bake for 25 – 35 minutes and serve warm.