Empanadas

Empanadas are definitely a super-tradition Chilean fare, and can be found in bakeries and corner shops everywhere in Chile. There are two general types of empanadas - baked ones (horneada) and fried (frita). Inside any empanada, you can basically put anything you want as a filling, although it's harder to make cheese empanadas in the oven. Here is the basic recipe for the dough (masa), which varies slightly for fried and baked empanadas but can be the same, and some suggestions for filling.

Dough for Baked Empanadas
Ingredients:
9 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
6 oz. margarine
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white wine

Dough for Fried Empanadas (can also be used for baked empanadas)
Ingredients:
9 cups all purpose flour
6 oz margarine
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water


1. Combine ingredients in bowl until consistent.
2. Roll out dough to a sheet, in a rectangular shape.
3. Imagine a line going down the width of your dough, and put two or three spoon fulls of filling on the lower half of the line, with about a two inch circle of dough around each spoon full.
4. Fold the top half of the dough over the spoon fulls.
5. Using a tea saucer or other small plate, cut the dough out starting on the crease in a semi-circle shape, cutting until the plate reaches the crease again.
6. For fried empanadas, you want to make sure that the edges are very tightly pressed together - think of the top and bottom parts of a pie crust.
7. For baked empanadas, you want to fold over the dough, making sort of a square in order to keep the juices inside. You may also want to spread some beaten egg on the tops with a brush to give them that golden-brown glow.


[spoon fulls on the dough]

Suggestions for filling:
Napoleana - tomatoes, cheese, oregano, and ham for the meat eaters
Champinon - sauteed mushrooms and onions with cheese
Espinaca - sauteed spinach with cheese
Acietuna - cheese and olives
Frutilla - chocolate and frozen strawberry

Of course, you can basically add whatever filling you like to the empanada, but it should be already cooked.