Recipe - Oozing Cheese And Bean Empanadas

FOR THE DOUGH
2 One half cup Allpurpose flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking powder
Three fourths teaspoon Salt
Three fourths teaspoon Ground nutmeg
One fourth cup Cold butter, chopped
One fourth cup Vegetable oil
3 Egg yolks
1 cup Milk

FOR THE FILLING
1/3 pound Shredded Colby cheese or
monterey jack cheese
2 cup Cooked red kidney beans,
drained
One half teaspoon Paprika
One half teaspoon Salt
One fourth teaspoon Cayenne pepper
2 Egg whites

To make the dough, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and
nutmeg in a bowl. Blend in the butter with a pastry blender or fork until
the mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk in the oil, egg yolks, and half of
the milk; gradually blend in the rest of the milk, forming a dough. Knead
the dough briefly, until smooth, then set aside 10 to 15 minutes to rest.

To make the filling, combine the cheese, beans, paprika, salt and pepper in
a mixing bowl and blend well. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until
they form stiff peaks and then blend into the cheese and bean mixture.

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.

Divide the dough into 6 equal balls. On a lightly floured board, roll each
ball into a circle about One fourth inch thick. If the dough is too moist,
sprinkle with a little flour. Place some of the bean and cheese mixture on
onehalf of each circle and then fold the dough over, enclosing the mixture
and forming a halfmoon shape. Press the edges with a fork to seal; prick
the surface several times.

Place the empanadas on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for about 25
minutes, until golden brown. Cool before serving.

Variation . . . Substitute 2 pounds of commercial biscuit dough for the
homemade dough (i.e., refrigerator biscuits). Follow the baking times on
the package; most take only 10 or so minutes to bake.

Yield: 6 servings Each serving provides: 593 Calories 30 g fat, 156 mg
chol.

Jay says ... Empanadas are savory turnovers popular in Latin American
countries. There are many kinds of empanadas, but my favorite is this
version, which oozes with cheese and beans. Traditional empanadas have a
buttery, biscuit like crust. from Lean Bean Cuisine (1995) Jay Solomon /
ISBN 1559584386 / Beans, Vegetarian. Formatted by patH
phannema@wizard.ucr.edu

Recipe by: Jay Solomon of Vegetarian Times

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #393 by patH phannema@wizard.ucr.edu on Jan
28, 1997.