This light version of the traditional Argentina empanada is one of my favourites! They are filled with mozarella cheese, smoked ham, fresh ricotta and seasoned with fresh thyme, salt and black pepper. Simple but declicious!
Recipe
How much time do you need?
· Preparation time: 1 and half hour
· Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
· Total time: 2 hours
Material:
· Mixing bowls
· Rolling pin
· Chopping board
· Baking tray
· Baking paper
Ingredients: Make aprox. 2 dozen
Dough:
· 500 grs plain flour
· 120 grs unsalted butter at room temperature
· 10 grs fine salt
· 250 ml water
Filling:
· 500 grs fresh ricotta
· 100 grs smoked ham
· 250 grs mozarella cut in 1cm cubes
· 2 tablespoons of grosely chopped fresh thyme
Seasoning:
· Salt
· 1 tsp ground black pepper
· 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Finish:
· Caster sugar
· Egg wash
Optional:
· Olives
Method:
Make the dough:
Mix water, butter and salt in a big mixing bowl. Add flour and knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough comes together. The dough should look smooth and elastic. Wrap in a plastic bag and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
You can keep this dough in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Make the filling:
Chop the smoked ham and add to a mixing bowl. Add the the mozarella cut into approx. 0.5cm cubes. Add the fresh thyme and season with the olive oil, salt and black pepper. Mix to combine, cover with a lid and reserve in the fridge until you have the dough ready. Add some chopped olives if you like.
Assembling:
Take the dough out of the fridge and let it rest at least 30 minutes. Lightly sprinkle a surface with flour and roll the dough using a rolling pin until it’s 1.5-2 ml thick. Cut the empanada discs by using a big round cutter of approx. 12cm diameter.
Tip: Don’t have a round pasta/cookie cutter? Use a small pan lid or a small plate, and cut with a sharp knife.
Put 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the disc dough. Are you adding olives? Add a quarter on one side of the filling. Lightly brush some water in the border of half a disc and seal the empanada by gently pressing the borders, remove any trapped air as you go and crimp the edges.
Make the classic crimp or use any crimp you like. Check the step by step on how to make the classic crimp on my original recipe here.
Tip: It’s better to assemble the empanadas with the filling chilled from the fridge. If the filling is at room temperature in a warm summer day, the dough discs will lose their shape very easily due to their high butter content.
An easy crimp for empanadas is made by pressing the borders with a fork (see pictures below)
Cooking:
Pre-heat oven with grill function to 240 degrees C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Make sure the baking paper has the same size of the baking tray, or a bit smaller, as the edges may burn up with the heat of the grill. Put 8-10 empanadas per tray. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle white sugar on top.
Place they tray in the upper shelf # 4 or 5, close to the grill. Grill for 3-5 minutes. Flip them over and grill for 3-5 minutes on the other side. Remove from the oven and let them cool down for at least 10 minutes.
Tip: Grilling is a great cooking method for empanadas as it will give them very nice charred spots but you need to keep an eye on them.
Serve them warm or cold.
Tip: You can store them in the fridge for a couple of days, or freeze them raw for several months. If frozen, cook them in a hot grill for 10-15 minutes (directly from the fridge, do not thaw)
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