Empanadillas a la PlayaAzul
Empanadas, Emapanadillas, Pastelillos
de carne - These are some of the names used to call the same
delicious empanadilla. In Puerto Rico we have perfected the
delicious empanadilla with a wide variety of fillings. You can make
them bite size, small or large and we call them pastelillos or
empanadillas. Whatever you prefer to call them; it doesn’t matter
because basically they are filled or stuffed fried turnovers made
with dough and the filling of your choice. The dough can be made
with Yuca or flour and the fillings are endless. Here we will do
Empanadillas de Cangrejo (crab meat).
First let’s make the dough
By the way you can buy the ready made dough disks from your
supermarket freezer section or you can make your own dough. This
recipe makes enough dough for ten 6inch empanadillas or thirty six
3inch empanadillas or as many bite size you want to make.
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup of extra flour on the side for kneading
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup cold water
1 egg plus 1 egg white
1 teaspoon sherry or cider vinegar
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
First in a large bowl stir the 3 cups of
flour and salt together. In a small bowl mix and beat the water,
egg, egg white and vinegar together. Now mix the shortening into the
flour mixture until it’s broken up into small chunks. Form a well in
the center of the flour and pour the liquid ingredients into the
well. Continue to beat the flour into the wet ingredients with a
fork until it’s too stiff to mix easily. Now the fun part... take
the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and continue to knead
the dough until all the flour is uniformly mixed and you have a
nice, smooth dough. This part is very important so don’t rush it and
keep kneading until you have the consistency of a smooth dough. Now
take the ball of dough and wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least
one hour or more. Do not refrigerate more than one day; if you do
not use the dough in one day make sure you put it in the freezer.
To make the 6inch empanadillas: split
the dough in two portions. Take one portion at a time and roll it
out on a floured board or table as thin as you possibly can without
making holes on the spread out dough. The rolled dough should not be
thicker than 1/8 inch thick. You can use a 6inch dish to cut the
dough into 6inch circles. You can use beaten egg white to brush the
edge of the circle to glue the empanadilla together when you close
it. The filling, about 1-2 tablespoonfuls, will be placed slightly
off center and on the half of the circle toward you. You can now
close and glue the empanadilla by folding the far edge of the dough
circle over the filling making a half moon shape and press the edges
firmly to form a seal with the gluey beaten egg white. Use the tips
of a dinner fork and press down all around the edge of the half
circle to make sure they stick together.
To make any size empanadillas. Follow
the above method adjusting for size and quantity of filling. You can
make the empanadillas ahead of time and refrigerate them until ready
to fry. Make sure you place a piece of wax paper between each
empanadillas to avoid them sticking together and place them in a
cookie sheet or large flat receptacle. You can also freeze them and
store them in freezer bags until you are ready to fry them. Make
sure to use wax paper between each empanadilla to keep them apart,
especially when they defrost and become soft.
To fry the empanadillas. Pour enough
cooking oil (canola oil is perfect) into a large heavy skillet to
fill ½ inch. Heat over medium heat to about 375° F. Place as many
empanadillas into the oil as will fit without touching. Fry, turning
once or twice, until browned on both sides and dough is cooked
through. Remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining
empanadillas. You may also bake the Empanadillas. Brush them with
beaten egg and bake in a 350° F oven until golden brown, 15 to 20
minutes for smaller empanadas or 20 to 35 minutes for the larger
size.
To make the Crab Filling for
Empanadillas
We will make the crab filling with the traditional sofrito-seasoned
tomato sauce. Cook the crab meat in the sauce until the sauce is
almost gone and the crab meat breaks up into little pieces and bonds
with the sauce. You don’t want the crab meat to be too liquid in
sauce. Makes about 3 cups, enough to fill ten 6inch empanadillas or
thirty six 3inch empanadillas
1 pound lump crabmeat
1 cup tomato sauce
1 packet of sazon with cilantro and achiote
¼ cup good extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup cider vinegar or any vinegar you like
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of crushed tomatoes
1 medium green or red pepper chopped
1 medium yellow onion chopped
2 or 3 thin stalks of cilantro, chopped fine
2 or 3 garlic cloves chopped
Grated zest of 1 lime and its juice
1 ounce of chili to taste, optional
Start making the sofrito by cooking in a frying pan; add the olive
oil and the chopped garlic; add the chopped peppers, onion and the
tomato sauce and continue to sauté these ingredients while stirring
them often; then add the crushed tomatoes and the vinegar and the
chopped cilantro and the packet of sazon and allow all these
ingredients to cook for a while add salt and pepper and the grated
zest of lime and pour in the juice of the lime and continue to cook
to build the sauce for the crab meat. Once all these ingredients
have cooked together for a while add the pound of crab meat and
continue to stir and cook; if needed you can put in a bit of water
to allow the meat to bond thoroughly with the sauce.
There you have both ingredients the dough and the crab meat filling;
Buen Provecho!
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