Green Chile & Beef Pies

Green Chile Beef Pies

Empanadas, pasties, pies…these are known by many names, but are they different?  In my quest to make these little gems for dinner, I found a delicious recipe for empanada dough from Mark Bittman’s book How to Cook Everything.  This dough was superb…flaky, tender, light & delicious.  It got me thinking, however, that calling this an empanada might be a misnomer.  I’m not really sure, but doesn’t my description (and having tasted this last night) seem more like the crust that would be used for a pot pie, or a quiche for example?  I’d appreciate your input – aren’t empanadas a little more bread-like, and less pastry-like?  Then there’s the option of baking or frying, & perhaps that’s where the difference (I baked mine, per his recipe) comes in.

I’ve never had a pasty myself, but I remember a friend from Michigan making them for her son’s school lunch (lucky kid!) & they looked really good.  I found the recipe she had given mom the other day, and it had the same ingredients, only the water was boiled, and baking powder was not used.

I know the history behind pasties, that miner’s ate these back in the day, because they were an easy to manage “package” – a compact meal of meat, vegetables, & bread.  Hey, maybe this was an early “fast food” of sorts!  BTW, my husband is a big fan of Alton Brown’s Good Eats, & he said Alton did an episode on pasties…I’ll have to see if I can dig it up!

So along with Bittman’s dough recipe,  I’m not going to list a recipe for the filling since it was so simple, but I basically browned the ground beef & mixed it with cooked potatoes, onion, & roasted Anaheim peppers (I diced the vegetables quite small) & seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, chili powder & a little chipotle powder.

Ingredients:

Bittman’s Empanada Dough:

2 cups flour

1 – 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup ice cold water

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients together in a food processor.  Add the shortening & pulse until the shortening is incorporated & the mixture is crumbly.  With the machine running, add up to the 1/2 cup of cold water, or until the dough forms a ball.  The dough should be fairly dry. Knead by hand until smooth, just a minute or so.

Divide into 10 – 12 pieces, roll into balls, and wrap in plastic or cover with a damp towel and let rest for at least 20 minutes.  On a floured surface, roll each piece into a 6-inch circle, adding flour as necessary.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place a couple of tablespoons of the meat mixture into the center of each circle.  Fold each circle over in half, & seal the seam with a little water and press with the tines of a fork to close. Put on an ungreased baking sheet (I used parchment paper) & brush lightly with milk. Bake until the dough is golden brown and hot, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes:

As you can see, Gene smothered his with cheese (what else is new?!) I served this with Tabasco sauce & sour cream on the side as well as creamy refried beans.

While I was sealing these up, I was visiting with my niece Emily on the phone.  I told her I was gonna name these “one handed empanadas!”  Well, at least you know these are simple enough that you can multi-task while making them!

Green Chile Beef Pies