Awesome Salsa, Empanadas And A Giveaway!
One of the things I love most about blogging is meeting and get to know other bloggers, I love visiting their sites, it’s a source of inspiration for me. One of the blogs I love and follow is Pretty Bitches Can Cook Too, the very pretty Tamara contacted me asking if I would like to do a guest post, and of course I jumped at the opportunity. Not only does Tamara have wonderful recipes on her site, she also is quite an entrepreneur and has a clothing line and makes and bottles her own salsa and hot sauce and is a philanthorpist. She sent me a jar of her Medium Serrano Salsa to try and I told her I would love to create a recipe using her salsa, she also generously offered to provide a lucky reader with a jar, if you love salsa you will LOVE this stuff!!
Salsa
Now, I am not an expert on food from South America or Mexico or even the Southwest US but Tamara’s salsa inspired me to make empanadas. Well, they are sort of empanadas they are not half moon shape but round like little hand pies, it’s my interpretation I guess you could say, I have never made them before and decided they are after all a turnover of a sort, so I used the recipe for galette dough. The tender flaky pastry goes so nicely with the spicy filling. The filling is so simple, ground beef, onion, garlic, black beans and salsa, this is topped off with some Manchego cheese. It’s a great combination and would make a great appetizer or snack, first thought was how great would these be while watching a football game!
Empanadas
The salsa is so good I can think of so many uses for it besides dipping chips or nacho’s. It would make a great base for chili or any dish with a south of the border or southwestern flavor profile. The medium serrano salsa has the just right amount of heat for a wimp like me, you know it’s there but it’s not uncomfortably hot. It’s fresh, and zingy and contains only good stuff, no preservatives or additives. It’s the real deal!
The empanada’s were wonderful served with some avocado (or guacamole), sour cream and some more salsa for dipping.
Spicy and flaky
See above for link to galette dough.
Makes 1 dozen small pies
Filling:
1 lb ground beef, 90% drained after cooking
1 small onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup black beans (I used canned)which I drained
1 1/2 cups Medium Serrano Salsa (Pretty Bitches Can Cook Too)
1 cup Manchego cheese grated (or grate as you need it, thats what I do) You can also use Monterey Jack or whatever kind of cheese you like
salt and pepper to taste
egg wash
Coat a fry pan with a little olive oil and saute the onions, when they are soft and translucent add the garlic and continue sauteing until completely cooked. Add the ground beef and brown, now add the salsa and black beans. Cook on medium/high for approximately 30 minutes, it will be nice and thick. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Pre heat oven to 400 degree’s. Roll out your dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Using 3 or 4 inch biscuit cutter cut out rounds, place a spoonful of the meat mixture in the middle top with a generous sprinkle of grated cheese, wet around the edge of the dough and place another round on top, press down and crimp edges with fork. Pierce the top with a fork, Place on parchment lined baking sheet, brush with egg wash and freeze for 15 minutes before baking.
Place directly from freezer to oven and bake for 25-35 minutes or until a beautiful golden brown.
Now for the giveaway:
To be entered in the contest you should:
– Leave comment here
– Follow Tamara on her blog “Pretty Bitches Can Cook Too“
– Like on Facebook
– Follow@prettycooks on Twitter
– Tweet about the giveaway to @prettycooks and @bklynpuggal
Winner will be announced on Oct. 31, 2013 and will be selected by Random.org. Good luck everyone. This salsa is amazing, you will love it!! Be sure to let me know that you were able to complete all the requirements. If you do not have a twitter or facebook account it’s ok, just let me know and you can just leave a comment here. Open to US residents only, sorry my dear friends abroad.
apuginthekitchen 