Meaty savory pockets of umami deliciousness. Chicken and Mushroom Empanadas our empanadas are flavorful, with a burst of umami rich mushrooms, shredded chicken, onions, cumin, mustard, garlic, fontina cheese and lots of freshly cracked black pepper. Empanada’ is derived from the Spanish verb empanar, which means to wrap or coat in bread.
There’s an Argentinean bakery/restaurant in San Francisco’s ferry building called El Porteno they make the tastiest empanadas I’ve eaten north of Buenos Ares. Flaky pastry with a variety of delicious filling, these hand held treats are served with chimmichuri sauce, we always pick up a few and eat fresh as they come out of the oven, Bonus: everything is baked on site.
Ingredients For The Filling
Our chicken mushroom empanada are filled with shredded chicken, mushrooms, cheese, a few aromatics, spices, mustard and lots of black pepper, they are pantry staples with bold flavors.
- Shredded chicken breast
- Chopped Onion
- Mushrooms
- Fresh Garlic
- Cilantro
- Fontina or Parmesan
- Mustard
- Ground cumin
- Black Pepper
- Egg for brushing
- Chimmichuri to serve (optional)
The Shell
Empanadas is a two step process. The easier part is the filling. The complex part is the outer shell. If you’d like and skilled go ahead and make the dough and roll out to make the best outer shell. For the rest of us a cheat and readily available option is a puff pastry or pie crust. It may not be the same, but a darn good option. I prefer puff pastry over pie crust because I found pie to be very dense and doughy, but both work well and its a matter of personal preference. There are brands that sell empanada shells in Latin markets but I have hard time finding them.
How to Make Chicken Empanadas
- Defrost the puff pastry according to the instruction on the package.
- Make the chicken empanada filling. In a warm skillet, saute the onions garlic and mushrooms. Once soften add the cilantro, shredded cooked chicken. Mix well take it off the heat and mix the mustard and cheese.
- Once the puff pastry has defrosted gently roll out and cut the dough in fours.
- Fill the empanadas! Take care not to over-fill—we recommend about 2-3 tablespoons of filling per 4-inch empanada dough.
- Seal the empanadas! brush with egg and use the tines of a fork to firmly press the edges closed.
- Bake the empanadas! 350° F for 35-40 minutes low and slow so the pastry cooks through and the outside is flaky and golden.
- Serve the empanadas out of the oven with chimmichuri, they’re delicious on their own too!
Chicken and Wild Mushroom Empanadas
Ingredients
- 10-12 oz cooked shredded chicken about 2 small breasts or 6 tenders
- 18 oz packaged puff pastry butter preferably, defrosted per package instructions
- 8 oz crimini, shiitake and wild mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 cup grated fontina, cheddar or parmesan cheese
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- sea salt as needed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 egg, whisked with one tablespoon of water
Instructions
- Defrost the puff pastry according to the package instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a saute pan warm the olive oil and add chopped onion, garlic, salt and mushroom. Saute until soft.
- Add the shredded chicken, cumin, black pepper and heat through. Make sure the mixture is not too wet or dry either. Take it off the heat add the cilantro, cheese and mustard, mix well and set aside.
- Roll out the puff pastry and cut into 4*4 inch squares.
- Working with one prepared square at a time place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling onto one side of the square.
- Dip a pastry brush with egg wash (1 beaten egg plus 1 tablespoon water) and brush on the inside ¼ inch edge of the filled dough. Fold the dough in half. Using the tines of a fork, firmly press the edges together to seal. Repeat this process with remaining dough and filling and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Brush each empanada with egg wash. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
- Serve hot or warm as is or with some chimmichuri. Enjoy!!!
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