On the Table: Veggie and Cheese Mini Empanadas with Spicy Dipping Sauce

I had a pound of dough in the refrigerator left over from making pizza the other day, so I decided to try making empanadas.  I made a vegetable and cheese filling, since those are the ingredients I had on hand.  They tasted a bit like mini calzones, but they were delicious either way!  To prepare:

Make the Filling

Thinly slice one medium white onion.  Clean and slice three ounces of mushrooms (I used baby portobellos).

In a large pan, heat up a tablespoon of butter and a splash of olive oil.  When the pan is warm, add in the onions.  Cook, stirring, until the onions start to get tender.  Add in the mushrooms.  When the mushrooms start to brown, add in about half a pound of spinach (I used frozen chopped spinach since I had some in the freezer, but you could certainly use fresh; you would just need to clean it and chop it up first).  Add in 1/2 a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 1/8 teaspoon coriander, 1/8 teaspoon celery seed, 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger and 1-2 teaspoons salt.  Continue cooking until all ingredients are cooked through.  Adjust seasoning to taste.

You will want the filling to be cool and fairly dry before you use it.  I put a colander inside a mixing bowl, and put the filling in the colander.  I left it in the refrigerator for about half an hour.

When you are prepared to assemble the empanadas, mix about a cup of shredded cheese into the vegetables (I used a mix of mozzarella and cheddar).

Make the Empanadas

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out the dough (I worked with just half a pound of dough at a time so it was a little more manageable).  Make sure the work surface is well floured.  Roll the dough out to approximately 1/8 of an inch thick.  To make the mini empanadas, use a large biscuit cutter (about 3.5 inches in diameter) to cut them out.  Then, roll the circles out further, until they are about 4.5 inches in diameter.

Fill each circle with a heaping tablespoon of the filling.  Fold the circle in half, and crimp around the edge to seal.  Thoroughly beat together an egg and a few drops of cold water to make an egg wash, and brush the top and sides of each empanada with the egg wash.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the empanadas are golden brown.

While the empanadas are cooking, you can prepare any sauces or accompaniments.  I made a spicy dipping sauce by combining equal parts sriracha, honey, and dijon mustard (I used about a tablespoon of each).  It was SPICY, but delicious!

Enjoy!