These are a lighter take on the deep-fried version – just as tasty and a whole lot easier. By using puff pastry, you can achieve a rich quality without the splattering oil and the need to serve immediately that comes with frying; if you’re catering to a vegetarian crowd, substitute cheese, diced onions, and mushrooms instead of beef. Here is the recipe for Bite-sized Poblano and Beef Empanadas with Cilantro Mayo.
Yield: 20 pieces
Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/3 lb 85% ground beef
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 small poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, and seeded, and diced small
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
2 eggs, beaten
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise, chilled
Directions
In a large sauté pan on medium heat, add oil. Add garlic and sauté until lightly brown, about 30 seconds. Add beef, chili powder, and paprika and stir well—season with salt and pepper. Cook until beef is just cooked through with some pink remaining, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Add peppers and mix well.
Preheat oven to 425˚F. Using a 2 1/2’’ cookie cutter, cut as many rounds as possible from pastry sheets. Stuff each round with a heaping tablespoon of meat and fold the dough in half. Crimp edges with your fingers and seal across the entire edge with the back of a fork. Put empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush the top side with the egg. If serving immediately, bake until empanadas are light golden brown and fluffy, about 10 minutes. If not, wrap and refrigerate, then bake for 12–15 minutes.
Add cilantro, lime juice, and mayonnaise in a food processor bowl. Season with salt. Pulse until well-combined, about 1 minute. Wrap and refrigerate sauce until serving.
If liked our Bite-sized Poblano and Beef Empanadas with Cilantro Mayo recipe, check out:
Seared Tuna with Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette
