September 2012 - Empanada Gallega
I was not very fond of this challenge. It's not that I wouldn't like some sort of a meat pie for dinner - it's just that I prefer sweet challenges. On the other hand, my empanada turned out very nice in the end.
I chose the Corn and Wheat empanada dough, because I thought, hey, it's Spanish, it must have corn in it! The filling was an improvisation, as is usual for me.
This is what I used for the dough:
400 grams instant polenta (that I used instead of corn flour)
100 grams wheat bread flour
250 ml warm water
1 packet (10g) instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
150 ml oil (I did not feel like waiting for margarine to soften)
First, I mixed the dry ingredients - polenta, flour, yeast and salt.
Then, I added the warm water and oil and mixed everything together.
This is how the dough looked. It was very crumbly and actually did not stick together very well. Also, the oil I used did not mix well in the dough, the polenta did not soak it up properly. I let the dough rise for about 10-12 hours (at room temperature), kneading it two or three times in the meantime. It did not rise, but I could feel how it became fluffy to the touch.
When the dough had "risen", I prepared my filling: pork and vegetables. I don't have precise measurements, because I took what I had in the fridge.
First, I chopped an onion, two small carrots and some leftover celery leaves.
I also chopped some brussels sprouts.
I cut pork (from the leg, very nice and lean meat) into slices, seasoned them with some salt and ground caraway seeds and quickly browned them. In the same pan, I browned the onions, carrots and celery leaves.