Crab and Goat Cheese Empanadas With Mango Chutney

Crab and Goat Cheese Empanadas With Mango Chutney

I hosted a tapas party this past summer and made quite a few recipes that I had never made before. Among those were these empanadas. They really wowed everybody so I thought I'd share this recipe find with you. This is a great make ahead recipe. You can keep these on a sheet tray, covered with plastic or foil in your fridge for a day or two. And I know they freeze very well because we just ate the last of them, from July, last night! The next time I bake these I will brush with an egg wash on the tops just to make them a bit more golden-brown looking and I will add a bit more sugar to the chutney as it was a bit tart. That probably depends on how ripe your mangoes are.

Recipe: Crab and Goat Cheese Empanadas

Adapted from Michelle Bernstein; The Melting Pot on Food Network

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes

1/3 cup cold water

For the filling:

1 tablespoon, olive oil

1 Spanish onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 habanero, minced

1 pound picked lump crab meat

1 cup soft goats cheese

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mango Chutney, recipe follows

Directions:

Dough: Combine flour, salt, and butter in food processor, run until it becomes a coarse meal. Add all the water and pulse until it forms a dough. Allow to rest for 1/2 hour.

Filling: In a saute pan on medium, heat olive oil and saute onion, garlic, and habanero. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, making a rough circle about 1/8-inch thick. With a 3-inch diameter cookie cutter, cut circles.

Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each circle. Moisten the exposed dough with a finger dipped in water. Fold the empanada in half, press the firmly together, sealing with a fork around the edge. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with Mango Chutney.

Recipe: Mango Chutney

2 mangoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped

1/4 Spanish onion, chopped

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Add cornstarch if desired to thicken.