Bolognese and Chorizo Empanadas with Smoked Paprika Pastry
Our classic bolognese makes a great base for all sorts of crowd-pleasing dishes, like these delicious empanadas. Great for game-watching or as a substantial party food, just whiz up a batch of pastry and you’re good to go!
Ingredients
For the filling:
1 cooked chorizo, (we used The Hungarian Co. Hot Goan chorizo), chopped
8-10 pitted green olives, roughly chopped
½ batch bolognese
For the smoked paprika pastry:
350g flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
75g unsalted butter, diced
75g cream cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
¼ cup iced water
Method
To make the pastry, put the flour, smoked paprika, and salt into a food processor and blitz briefly. Add the butter and cream cheese and blitz until you have a coarse crumb with bits of butter still visible. Add the egg and vinegar, then add enough water until it forms clumps (start with 3 Tbsp then add more as necessary).
Tip onto a clean bench and bring the dough together, then knead lightly. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the chorizo, olives, and half batch of bolognese to make the empanada filling. Refrigerate until required.
Divide the dough into 15 pieces of approx. 40g each. On a floured surface, roll each one out into a round about 2-3mm thick. Put a large spoonful of filling onto one half of each round. Fold the pastry over and crimp the edges, then transfer onto a baking paper-lined tray. These can be made a day ahead if you prefer, or can be frozen on a tray then packed into zip lock bags. If frozen, defrost on a baking paper-lined tray before cooking.
To cook, preheat the oven to 180°C. Prick the tops of the empanadas with a fork to allow steam to escape and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden. Cool for 5 minutes before serving with your favourite sauce or salsa.