Way back when Accolan was still in his teens he was in the Marine Corps and found himself stationed in Panama. It was there that he was introduced to empanadas. Every time those little pockets of yum have come up in conversation he’s gotten this (dare I say) almost wistful look on his face and I was determined at some point to make them for him.

Over the past couple of months Blade & Cauldron’s focus has turned to the food we eat. I have begun to transcribe my recipes, and explore new foods, in an effort to find ways to cut our food costs as low as possible while still enjoying homemade meals that span a wide array of lands and cultures. During that time I have found myself reading and commenting on lots of food blogs. One of them is The Perfect Pantry who has shared a few empanada recipes of her own and inspired the creation of this dish.

They are delicious and are wonderfully portable, making them not only a wonderful dinner entree, but a great brown bag lunch (or even car food for a road trip).  Best of all, they are cheap!  All told I spent maybe $10 on the ingredients … making each empanada about 42 cents.

24 servings

Ingredients:

Goya discos* – 24

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt

1 lb white button mushrooms, finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt

3/4 lb pork loin chops, trimmed of visible fat, diced

1/2 cup frozen peas

1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp marjoram

2 tsp potato starch

_{*thinly rolled five-inch rounds of ready-to-fill dough, found in the freezer section of many supermarkets}

Directions:

Filling

Heat oil in a non stick pan.

Add onion and 1/4 tsp of the salt.

Cook until reduced in volume, and lightly golden.

Add garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.

Add mushrooms in two batches (adding 1/8 tsp of salt to each), and cook until reduced to about 1/4 volume.

Add pork and seasoning, stir well to mix. Cook until pork is “seared”.

Add peas and cook until peas are heated through.

Add potato starch and cook for another 10 minutes or so to allow “sauce” to thicken and for the starch to lose its raw taste.

Adjust seasonings at this point if desired.

Set aside and allow to come to room temperature.

Assembling

Place a piece of parchment paper on your work area.

Lay defrosted disco on parchment paper.

Place 1 rounded tablespoon of filling in center of disco.

Dip finger in water, run along outermost edge of disco to moisten.

Fold over into a half moon shape and press to seal.

Crimp edges with the tines of a fork.

Glazing

You can brush the empanadas with seasoned oil (we’ve done it it’s yummy) but an egg white glaze will still give you a golden finish and add only negligible calories.

Baking

Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and bake at 350 degrees for 22 minutes, or until lightly browned and edges are crisp.

Serving:

These are great served immediately. Maybe with a tossed salad, or other side dishes like tomato salad or a garbanzo bean salad

But, they are just as good the next day, at room temperature, eaten as a light lunch.

Variations:

You can fill discos with just about anything. We’ve also tried these with our vegetarian taco filling which was simply delish. I plan to make different fillings every time I make these until we find out favorites. In the meantime I am considering the possibilities of a tuna melt filling, a vegetable pot pie filling, beef and gravy filling, even meat balls and sauce.

Discos can even be filled with pie fillings and turned into cute little desserts.

Nutritional Information:
less glaze

Calories 164.7
Total Fat 6.2 g
Saturated Fat 1.6 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.1 g
Cholesterol 8.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate 24.6 g
Dietary Fiber 1.6 g
Sugars 1.1 g
Protein 5.8 g
_{estimate via Recipe calculator via Sparkpeople.com}

Enjoy!

Jia

This recipe was shared at Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, Fat Camp Friday over at Mangoes & Chutney, Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life, Fun with Food Friday at Paisley Passions, Friday Favorites at Simply Sweet Home, Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum, Potluck Sunday at Mommy’s Kitchen, at Seasonal Sunday at Real Sustanance, Sunday Spotlight at You Made That,

Note: This post was supposed to have multiple photos detailing the process of making these yummy little bundles of joy.  But when I grabbed my camera it was to find that Reya had “borrowed” its batteries for a Wii remote.  I will remedy this fact the next time I make these.

Image thanks to spongkie_28

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