Cheesy sweetcorn + greens empanadas with olive salsa yoghurt
These baked empanadas are packed with serious flavour; the combo of juicy corn, silverbeet, caramelised onions and double cheese is everything you never knew you needed. Then there’s the flaky pastry that sends these bad boys to god-mode. Served with a creamy kicker dipping sauce, one is never enough.
Top Tip - ensure your pastry and filling are chilled before assembling, as this makes rolling and shaping way way way way way easier! The empanadas can be assembled in advance and frozen. Thaw to room temperature before baking as described below.
hands-on time
1 hour 15 minutes
2 hours
total time
makes
12-14 empanadas
Ingredients
Empanada pastry
400g plain white flour
¾ tsp sea salt
300g frozen butter, grated
approx. 120-170ml cold water
1 egg, whisked with a fork
Empanada Filling
2 tbsp olive oil
3 red onions, peeled and sliced thinly
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1kg bunch of silverbeet
4 cloves garlic, finely grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground paprika
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp sea salt
250g frozen sweetcorn kernels
125ml rosé or white wine
2 tbsp finely chopped oregano leaves
150g tasty cheese, grated
50g feta, crumbled
Olive salsa yoghurt
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 green chilli, finely chopped
8 pitted green olives, finely chopped
2 tbsp oregano leaves
2 tbsp thyme leaves
juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
300g unsweetened Greek yoghurt
Method
For the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Grate the frozen butter into the flour. Using your hands, very loosely rub the grated butter into the flour so that it is evenly coated. Make a well in the centre and add 120ml cold water. Mix together gently with your hands, and gradually add up to another 50ml cold water if needed to form a rough, firm but kneadable dough with streaks of butter through it. Form into a rough disc, cover loosely with cling film, and refrigerate for 1 hour while you make the filling.
To make the filling, place the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 12 minutes until the onions are softened and starting to caramelise. Add the brown sugar and vinegar, and cook for a further 3 minutes, stirring through the onions. Strip the leaves from the thick silverbeet stalks and set aside the stalks for another use - you will only use the leaves for the filling. The weight of the leaves should be approx. 450g. Roughly chop the leaves and add to the pan with the garlic, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring through the onions, until the leaves have wilted down a little. Stir through the corn kernels, pour over the rosé, and simmer for 10 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated. Stir through the chopped oregano and adjust seasoning to taste with extra salt if needed. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to chill, or until ready to assemble. Once cold, stir through the grated tasty cheese and feta.
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan-forced (200°C conventional). Line two large oven trays with baking paper.
To assemble, remove the pastry and filling from the fridge. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry until 4mm thick. Using a 12cm round cutter or bowl, cut out circles of pastry, rerolling any scraps, to form 12-14 circles. Place a generous heaped tablespoon of filling in the centre of each. Brush the edges of the pastry circles with a little water and fold the pastry over the filling to form half moons. Crimp around the curved edges with a fork to seal. Transfer the empanadas to the lined trays. In a bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 tbsp cold water to form an egg wash. Brush the empanadas evenly with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes until golden brown, swapping the trays at halfway for an even bake.
For the olive salsa yoghurt, in a mortar and pestle, bash the garlic until crushed. Add the chopped chilli and bash together to a paste. Add the chopped olives, followed by the oregano and thyme, bashing together to form a salsa. Stir through the lemon juice and olive oil, and adjust seasoning to taste. Spoon the yoghurt into a serving bowl and swirl the olive salsa into the yoghurt so there are streaks of white and green.
Serve the empanadas warm, with the olive salsa yoghurt for dipping.