Turkey Empanadas ( Pastelillos de pavo)

Hey everyone Staphanie here. So I decided to dig into my roots the other day and turn a party classic into something more healthy and no as fatty. We normally make empanadas aka pastelillos as a party snack. We fill them with a lot of different things, guava paste and dusted with powder sugar, sauce and mozzarella, ground beef, shredded chicken. You name it we might have done it.

So instead of some of those options, we decided to use lean ground beef, 93% meat, 7% fat. We also added chickpeas into the mix for more protein. No deep frying. Oven baked is the best way.

I have to say I was very happy with the recipe. We also made them with country style pork, bbq and sharp cheddar cheese. Also a good pair.

Well here is the recipe and we hope you enjoy it. Buen probecho!

Ground Turkey Empanadas

(Pastelillos de pavo)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 pack of empanadas disks (10)
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 1 onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• TT Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of water.
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of mozarella, grated 

Procedure:       Preheat oven to 400°F

1. In a medium saute pan, add the olive oil. Once is hot brown the meat with Onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Once cooked, add the chickpease, cook for a minute then add the tomato paste and water. Lower heat a bit and let the water reduce. (If you feel bold, semi sweet white wine goes well with it).
3. Once the meat is cooked, turn off and let it cool some so not to burn yourself when assembling.
4. Once assemble, brush the empanadas with olive out and place on baking pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I personally like to cook some spiced with the olive oil before brushing it over the empanadas. It helps the dough not taste so bland. It also helps it taste more as if it was deep fried instead of baked. We all deep fried food who doesn't.