I created this empanada in hopes of Max liking them. He loves cajun spiced fries. He loved fried potatoes. He needs to eat less fried foods (as in: frozen tater tots and fries). So I thought some cajun spiced empanadas would be just the ticket. Flavors he likes all neatly packaged up in dough.
He didn’t like the filling because it was too mushy. However – we loved the filling! I made twice as much filling as I needed to fill the empanadas but I’m going to present the recipe here just as I made it because the leftovers make a fantastic breakfast. If you don’t like leftovers (WHAT?!) then halve this recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 batch of empanada dough
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced small
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 tsp cajun seasoning, plus extra for dusting dough
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 egg whisked with a little water for brushing the dough
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water fitted with a steaming basket to a boil and steam the diced potatoes until tender and just falling apart.
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- While potatoes are steaming, heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the onions. Saute onions until they are translucent and soft.
- In a large bowl mix the potatoes, onion (scraping any extra oil into the bowl from the pan), and the seasonings really well.
- Roll out the empanada dough according to the instructions in the recipe. Fill each round with a couple of teaspoons of potatoes (adjust according to the size of your empanadas - you want them filled as full as you can while still being able to close the dough shut without leaking the filling out).
- Place empanadas on a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper.
- Brush them with the egg and water and then sprinkle a little cajun spice on each one.
- Bake for 25 minutes
Notes
The way I've made these isn't that spicy. My cajun spices are mild and I only added a little cayenne. You can ramp up the spiciness as much as you like.
I used an actual teaspoon to fill mine. If you use a real teaspoon instead of a measuring teaspoon then you just want a scant teaspoon. That is - if you are making small empanadas. I have no idea how much you will need in each empanada if yours are a different size than I made mine. Just wing it. You can do it.