Empanadas are easy to make with a recipe that’s very forgiving. A batch of them can use up your leftovers economically, without leaving those at your table feeling deprived.

 Ron Medvescek / Arizona Daily Star 2004

Every cook is faced at some point with a lot of mouths to feed and not much food to go into them.

Perhaps you have a single cooked chicken breast leftover and four hungry family members, all gaping like baby birds, begging to be fed. Or just a half-pound of ground beef leftover from the Labor Day cookout. Or you have just two puny cans of tuna and no idea how to stretch it.

Empanadas, the little filled individual pies, can answer your need.

Every culture has some kind of small pie. In Michigan, we called them pasties; down South, they were called hand pies and usually filled with peaches or apples. And in Latin America, they’re called empanadas.

This week, I wanted to share my empanada dough recipe, give you some filling ideas, and teach you the secret tip to keeping the easy dough flaky and tender.

A lot of cooks, beginners especially, worry about making pastry dough tough by overhandling it. Yet I can’t ever remember a time when someone served me a slice of pie and I thought, β€œPity that the crust is tough.” I think it’s something you don’t really need to worry about. Still, if you have that concern, a tablespoon of vinegar β€” or vodka β€” in the dough can allay your fears and provide you with a bit of insurance. Both work by denaturing the proteins that form gluten strands β€” so your dough always stays tender.

Making the best use of the food we have on hand has become especially important in pandemic kitchens. A batch of empanadas can use up your leftovers economically, without leaving those at your table feeling deprived.

Empanada dough and some ideas for fillings

Makes enough dough for eight 5-inch empanadas

This is a very forgiving recipe. Use whatever fat you have on hand to prepare the dough. If you don’t have white vinegar, use cider vinegar. Vodka, though far from traditional, can also substitute for the vinegar. Easy to make and easy to handle, this dough can stand in whenever you need pastry for some purpose.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup masa harina, or an additional 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, or vegetable shortening, or lard

1 large egg

1/3 cup ice water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

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Preparation

Sift flour and masa harina with salt into a food processor fitted with a metal blade or into a large bowl. Add the butter, shortening or lard and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some larger lumps of fat. If preparing by hand, rub in the fat with your fingertips or a pastry blender until you achieve the same result.

Beat egg, water and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, and pulse until the dough comes together. If preparing by hand, mix egg mixture into flour mixture with a fork, just until the dough comes together. It may look shaggy.

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. (Dough made in a food processor may not need this step.) Form dough into log and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least one hour.

After chilling, slice the log into eight pieces. Roll each of these out to about a 5-inch diameter and trim them into tidy circles (I use a cereal bowl to trace the disks). Place about 1/4 cup filling (see below or use your imagination) slightly off-center on a disk, fold the dough over to cover, and press the edges with a fork to seal. Place the filled empanada on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Repeat until all disks are filled.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush the empanadas with a beaten egg wash and bake. If the filling is already cooked, bake until the empanadas are deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. If the filling is made with raw ingredients, bake a little longer β€” 20 to 30 minutes.

The empanadas may also be fried in a large skillet.

Filling ideas

You’ll need about 2 cups of filling for eight empanadas

Leftover chicken, beef or pork and vegetables: Finely chop the leftover meat with a knife or in a food processor. Combine with finely chopped red or white onion, sliced green onions or leek, diced potato, carrot, and seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, hot sauce, chile powder and so on.

Classic picadillo filling: In a large heavy skillet over medium, brown 1/2 pound ground beef. When the beef is almost cooked, add diced onion, 1/4 cup raisins, 1/4 cup green olives and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent. Sprinkle 1/4 cup flour over the mixture and stir. Add 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring, until the raisins plump and the juices are thickened, about five minutes.

Fish taco filling: Use leftover fish if you have it; otherwise, poach or bake 8 ounces of firm white fish fillets – cod, tilapia, catfish or ono. Canned tuna can work here, too. Coarsely shred the cooked fish, then combine in a medium bowl with sliced green onion, coleslaw mix and diced tomato. Serve the filled, cooked empanadas with salsa and sour cream on the side.

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Robin Mather is a longtime food journalist and the author of β€œThe Feast Nearby.” Follow her blog as she writes her third book, β€œThe Feast of the Dove,” at thefeastofthedove.com.