Empanada | Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanada

5 from 12 votes

Empanada | Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanada

Argentinian Onion and Cheese Empanadas are the perfect baked appetizer filled with juicy sweet onions and Gouda cheese. The flaky pastry crust just melts in the mouth.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

chilling time3

Total Time4 20

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: South America

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings:

Calories: 118kcal

Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

Oven
food processor
Rolling Pin
cookie cutter

Ingredients

For the Dough -

2 ½ cups All purpose flour
8 tablespoon Butter chilled and cubed - (1 stick)
½ cup Cold water -
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Baking powder

For the filling -

1 Spanish sweet onions large, thinly sliced
¾ cup Gouda Cheese -
1 teaspoon Oregano dried
2 teaspoon Crushed red pepper optional
to taste Salt
1 tablespoon Oil

To Assemble the Empanada -

Heavy cream or milk - to brush the empanadas
Sesame seeds - to sprinkle

Instructions

To make the Empanada dough / cover -

In the bowl of food processor or in a large bowl, measure the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix.
Add the chilled and cubed butter and combine them well until it resembles bread crumbs. I used my food processor and hence pulsed it a few times to combine the butter with the flour. Make sure you don't run the machine continuously as that will increase the temperature and melt the butter.
Slowly add the cold water until a stiff dough forms.
Divide the dough into 2 halves and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or at least for 3 hours.

To make the filling -

Thinly slice the onions.
In a pan heat the oil and then add the onions. Add the salt, crushed red pepper and the oregano and let the onions cook in low to medium heat until light brown and aromatic (about 15 minutes).
Remove from heat and let it cool down to room temperature.

To assemble the Empanada -

Remove the refrigerated dough and roll it into thin circle.
Cut out about 3 inches wide circles from the dough using a lid or cookie cutter. You could use bigger size as well. I made my empanadas about 3 inch wide.
Repeat with the rest of the dough and then re-roll the scraps and cut them out again.
Place about 1 tablespoon of onion mixture on one half of the circle and add about 1 teaspoon of grated cheese.
cover the filling with the other half of the dough (form a semi circle) and pinch the corners well. At this point, you could seal the empanadas using a fork or by folding the edges over each other (like I did). Whatever method you follow, make sure you seal them well.
Place the prepared empanadas in a parchment lined baking sheet.
Using a fork, make several holes on each empanada, so that the steam can release when baking.

Baking -

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Brush the empanadas using egg wash, cream or milk. I use a combination of cream and milk.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top of the empanadas.
Place the baking sheet in the middle rack and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Serve hot with salsa!

Nutrition