Spanish empanadillas stuffed with garden peas

Empanadillas are quite a popular Spanish snack that you can find pretty easily at most bakeries. They consist of a dough, folded in a half-moon shape, with different types of stuffing. Some of the most common stuffings, at least in my area, are: spinach, garden peas and tomato sauce. Usually empanadillas are eaten as a snack between breakfast and lunch, or even between lunch and dinner. 

In my family this dish is quite commonly found at extended family gatherings, when you're meant to have a few snacks on your paper plate and wander around the house talking to people. Also, my grandma would often make this as a standalone dish, specially during summer and warmer months, when you don't feel like eating a hot stew. 

I didn't get to learn how to make empanadillas from my grandma, who made the best ones, but instead we had to figure out the recipe on our own. The first time we made them, I knew we were on the right track because the kitchen smelled the exact same my grandma's kitchen did when she made them. She usually made two types of stuffing, tomato and garden peas, but so far I just make the peas one. 

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

• 300 grams of frozen peas.
• Lettuce (4-5 leaves).
• 1 onion.
• 1 boiled egg (Optional)
• 1 can of tuna (Optional. I personally prefer my empanadas without tuna). 

For the dough: 

• 500 grams of wheat flour (all-purpose flour would be fine). 
• 125 ml of beer or flavorless soda.
• 125ml of olive oil.
• 1 beaten egg (to paint them)

When we started making empanadillas, we always used beer for the dough, but it turned out to be quite wasteful because you had to open a beer just to use a little  and throw out the rest, since we don't drink beer. So, at some point we decided to try to use this powder soda, so we could make just what we needed. It contains some sodium bicarbonate and some tartaric acid. This is quite often used to make baking goods such as muffins. If you decide to use something similar, use two doses of 5,5 grams. 

But now, let's stop rambling and let's start with the actual instructions. We usually make the dough first and then the stuffing, since the dough needs to sit for a while before making the empanadillas. However, you can make it the other way around if you prefer to do so.

Dough:

In a bowl, add 400 grams of wheat flour and a pinch of salt. Stir so the salt can mix in with the flour. 

Measure 125ml of beer or soda (in our case, water, since we mix it with the soda in a bigger glass) and 125ml of olive oil. We use this yogurt jars that are exactly 125ml. 

Pour the oil and the beer/soda into the bowl with the flour and start mixing everything together. You will notice that this is a "greasy" dough because of the olive oil. Because you have to be quick here, this was the best photo I managed to get from this part. 

I don't own any kind of kneading machine or dough mixer, so I do everything by hand. The way I do it is I gently "punch" the dough and twist my fist and I repeat it several times alternating hands. Once the dough has expanded, I fold it to make it small again and repeat. You will need to do this for roughly 5-10 minutes, until the dough starts getting harder. 

Once it's done, make a ball with the dough and let it sit in a dark and dry place for at least 45 minutes.

Stuffing: 

Before you start making the stuffing, I would recommend taking the frozen peas out of the freezer and put them in a bowl with water, or whatever you do to de-froze them. If you want to add a boiled egg, remember to boil it beforehand. 

On a pan, heat some olive oil and then add a chopped onion. Try to cut it quite small.

While it cooks, cut your lettuce into small pieces. I always eyeball how much lettuce I put, but at least 5 leaves if you're using a roman type of letuce.  

Once the onion is halfway cooked, add the lettuce and stir. You'll know your lettuce is cooked when it starts changing color. 

Once the onion and lettuce are almost completely cooked, rinse your peas and add them to the pan. Let them cook for a few minutes. If you want to add tuna, do it after this step. 

Peel the boiled egg and cut it into small pieces. Add it to the pan and stir. At this point, everything should be cooked, so you can turn off the heat.

Empanadillas:

Now it comes the complicated part, which is making the empanadillas. To be fair, it's not so much that it's difficult, but it's very time-consuming and needs some practice. My partner and I usually do this part together, so it doesn't take us so long. 

Start of by taking a small ball of dough, more or less the size of a ping-pong ball or a golf ball. 

Flatten the dough using a roller. You can also use a dish to help you flatten the ball and then finish it with the roller. I like to use some oven paper, so the dough won't stick to the roller, but you don't have to do this. 

Cut a circle using a cookie cutter or something else with a round shape. We don't have a cookie cutter, so we use some random bowl as a guide. Because our bowl is too small, we flatten it again after cutting it, but you don't have to do it if you get the right size.

Using a teaspoon, put some stuffing on top of the circle. Make sure you're putting it just on one half.

Now fold the rest of the dough over the stuffing and close your empanada. Fold the edges up to make sure it's closed. 

To avoid them opening in the oven, press the edges with a fork. 

Repeat this process until all the dough is gone. Depending on how big and thick you make them, you should get something between 12 and 16. 

Pre-heat your oven to 190ºC (374ºF). While it heats, beat an egg and use it to paint the empanadillas, so they will look "glossy". If you're vegan, you can try to paint them with olive oil instead or any other substitute you are used to. I have never done this myself, but I would love to hear from you. 

Cook them at 190ª with air for about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them once they reach the 18-minute mark. You'll know they're cooked when they get a toasty color. 

Once they're cooked, let them sit for around 10 minutes, so they can cool down. You can eat them warm or once they've completely cooled down. They last pretty well until the next day if you store them in a dry and dark place. 

And that is how you make empanadillas. I hope you guys enjoyed it and that it inspired you to try to do this at home. It's a bit time-consuming if you do it on your own, but you can always go faster if you cook with your friends or family. 

As for my next post, I don't have anything planned out. I do want to share our homemade pizza recipe, but I don't want to make two "salty baking" posts in a row. Since it's almost summer, I also don't want to write about super hot stews or soups, so I'm trying to think about something lightweight. Maybe some sauce or a side dish. If you have any suggestions, let me know. 

So what do you think of empanadillas? Did you hear about this dish before? Will you give this a try?

M.C.

Check out all of the traditional recipes.

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