Miso Vegetable Fried Empanada with Tomato Basil Lemon Salsa

To date this has been the longest time since I uploaded a new recipe. I have been busy with many new commitments lately but my passion for cooking is still sizzling (pardon the tacky adjective).

Anyway, after countless scrolling efforts in Pinterest on savory pastry entries and viewing Youtube tutorials on how to make empanadas, here’s what I’ve experimented on: Miso Vegetable Fried Emapanada with Tomato Basil Lemon Salsa. Admittedly, the thought of making empanadas is daunting and intimidating but trust me it's easy to cook this flavor-packed wonder. 

I hope to turn this empanada obsession into a profitable business sometime soon. But for now, I have to perfect the recipe and have a fill of this filling treat!

The Recipe

Dough

Flour [1 cup]

Margarine or butter [half a stick]

Egg [1 beaten]

Milk [1/8 cup]

Salt [to taste]

Filling

Mongo Sprouts [1 cup]

Sweet Potato [1 cup, diced]

Cabbage [1 cup]

Miso Paste [2 spoonfuls]

Oyster Sauce [2 spoonful]

Celery [half a cup, diced]

Onion leeks [half a cup, diced]

Soup stock [half cup]

Garlic [5 cloves, minced]

Onion [1 head, minced]

Olive oil [3 tablespoons]

Salsa

Tomato [1 cup, diced]

Basil [10 leaves, chiffonade]

Lemon Juice [3 tablespoons]

Cayenne Pepper [to taste]

Salt [to taste]

Directions

1. To make the dough, combine flour, salt, and margarine until mixture becomes crumb-like in texture.
2. Add the wet ingredients-- milk and egg. Mix and fold in until it becomes a solid ball mass. Don’t knead. Let it rest for at least a minute. Set aside and refrigerate.
3. To make the filling, in a pan, sautee garlic and onion on olive oil until it becomes fragrant.
4. Put in the miso paste then add the sweet potatoes. Render sweet potatoes until soft.
5. Throw in the leeks and celery.
6. Add mongo sprouts and cabbage. Do not overcook.
7. Glaze with soup stock. Let it simmer.
8. Add oyster sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
9. To make salsa, just combine all ingredients then season as desired.
10. To assemble empanada, get dough and flatten with rolling pin until wide enough for chosen pattern (could be as small as the rim of a cup or as big as the plate’s)
11. Cut the dough with the chosen pattern (circular is the most typical)
12. Fill in the dough with cooked filling.
13. Fold the dough into half and seal its edges by pressing it down with a fork.
14. Spread egg wash on it then throw in the frying pan for about 3 minutes. Deep frying is advisable. Oven-baked, better.
15. Serve piping hot.