Discover how delicious healthy food can taste!
INGREDIENTS
Pastry
1 ½ cups white whole-wheat flour
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat (1%) cottage cheese
½ cup olive oil or canola oil
½ cup low-fat (1%) milk
2 teaspoons sugar
Filling & Glaze
2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 ½ cups shredded peeled butternut squash (7 ounces peeled squash)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small fresh poblano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup frozen corn niblets
1 cup shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 egg, blended with 1 tablespoon water for glaze
1 cup Cilantro-Pepita Salsa (Recipe here)
EMPANADAS WITH WINTER SQUASH & PEPPER JACK FILLING
Serve these Latin turnovers at a party or take them to a potluck and watch them fly away! To give these savory appetizers a healthful spin, I have replaced the traditional lard or shortening in the pastry with a mixture of cottage cheese and olive oil, and substituted whole-wheat flour for half of the white flour. Shredding, rather than pureeing, the squash gives the filling a more interesting texture. A food processor fitted with the shredding disk makes shredding hard squash a snap.
PREPARATION
1. To make pastry: Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and ½ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Place cottage cheese in a food processor; puree. Add ½ cup olive oil, milk and sugar; process until smooth. Add the flour mixture and pulse 4 to 5 times, just until dough clumps together. Turn the dough put onto a lightly floured surface and knead several times, but do not overwork. Divide dough in half and press into 2 disks. Dust disks lightly with flour. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 2 days.
2. Meanwhile, to make filling: Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add squash, jalapeno, garlic and cumin; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until squash is just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in corn. Simmer, uncovered, until most of the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool completely. Stir in cheese.
3. Make Cilantro-Pepita Salsa. Recipe here.
4. To assemble and bake empanadas: Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of pastry into a rough rectangle a little less than ¼-inch thick. Using a 4-to 4 ½-inch cookie cutter (or a small bowl or plate with a 4-inch diameter), cut out as many circles as you can from the sheet of pastry. Pull away scraps, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to use later. Brush perimeters of pastry circles with egg glaze. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling onto each pastry circle. Fold pastry over filling and press edges together to seal. Transfer empanadas to prepared baking sheet. Crimp edges decoratively with your fingertips or the twines of a fork. Brush empanada tops with egg glaze and pierce tops with tip of a small knife to allow steam to escape. Bake until empanadas are golden, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. Once you have rolled and filled the first 2 discs of pastry, roll out pastry scarps until you have used all the filling.
5. Serve empanadas hot or warm with Cilantor-Pepita Salsa. If making empanadas ahead of time, reheat them in a 350ºF-oven for about 10 minutes.
Per empanada (with 2 ¼ teaspoons Cilantro-Pepita Salsa): Calories: 190. Total fat: 11 grams. Saturated fat: 2.5 grams. Cholesterol: 5 milligrams. Sodium: 260 milligrams. Carbohydrate: 18 grams: Fiber: 2 grams. Protein: 6 grams.
Recipe by Patsy Jamieson