I love dulce de leche. I love ice cream. I love apples. I figured they can only be more delicious when combined (sort of a holy triad, if you will). I felt what some might describe as inappropriate joy upon eating these gooey, creamy and sweet creations...*content sigh*.
Maybe these are better described as turnovers, but as I am using frozen empanada wrappers (not as homemade, I know, but it saves SO much time, I highly recommend them in a pinch) to create empanadas de dulce de leche con manzanas y una bola de helado: dulce de leche and apple empandas with good old fashioned vanilla ice cream.
To make 10 empanadas:
1 pack frozen Goya empanada shells
5 small to medium sized apples
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup dulce de leche
Vanilla ice cream
Defrost empanada shells in fridge until ready to bake.
Preheat oven to 400.
Slice apples into 8ths and then once again horizontally. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon over apples and add lemon juice. Stir mixture.
Melt butter in medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add apples and stir until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Use a rolling pin to flatten empanada shells, one by one. Add about 1/2 of an apple to shell and a scoop of dulce de leche (a bit less than a tablespoon).
Fold dough over and pinch shut. Use a fork to create ridges along edge of dough. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon and brown sugar over the empanadas.
Bake empanadas for about 20 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
Serve with vanilla ice cream.
I'm part of a lunch group at work; every day a different person brings in food. About 8 months after I started the group, a vegetarian was hired. Now I am all about free choice, but this threw a serious wrench in the works (<-is that a saying?). As a result, I was forced to come up with some veg-friendly dishes.
Ingredients:
Dough to make about 12 empanadas (homemade, or frozen-if frozen, remove from freezer before starting to cook)
1 can black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 small onion
1 green pepper
4 cloves garlic
4 oz goat cheese
2 fried sweet plantains (if you are not feeling it, buy Goya frozen ones, they are very close to the original)
Salsa
1 avocado
2 limes
Cumin
Paprika
Preheat oven to 375.
Mince the cilantro and garlic and dice the pepper and onion. Heat oil over medium-high heat in large saute pan. Add diced/minced ingredients and turn heat to medium. Add 1/4 teaspoon paprika and 1/4 teaspoon cumin to mixture. Saute about 7 minutes or until onion is translucent. Remove from heat.
Slice fried sweet plantains (maduros) into small chunks, about 1/2 inch wide. Mix into black beans. Crumble goat cheese over beans and mix well. Add sauteed ingredients to beans, stir and set aside.
Roll out empanada dough and cut into small discs, about 3-4 inches in diameter. If using frozen discs, gently roll out a little to loosen the dough. Fill each disc with about 2 tablespoons of filling. Fold over to create a half-moon and use a fork to pinch dough shut. Repeat until all filling has been used.
Set filled shells onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Cook about 20 minutes or until empanada dough is starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool a little on cookie sheet.
Slice avocado into 1/4 inch strips and cut limes into 12 wedges (6 for each lime).
Serve empanadas with sliced avocado and salsa for dipping. Squeeze lime juice over empanada to eat.
