Estamos Cocinando Empanadas - We are making empanadas

On Friday a special group got to make empanadas. Empanadas are from Argentina and are pastry with filling. We had three different fillings for the empanadas, which were carne picada (mince), maiz de crema (sweet corn) and jamón y queso (ham and cheese). There were some students that couldn't have meat (beef or ham) or others who couldn't eat any meat or eggs because of religious reasons so we had to make maiz de crema and empanadas with just cheese.

Our Spanish teacher, Mrs Lee, taught us how to make the empanadas and she brought the ingredients. The ingredients for all the empandas are: flaky pastry, mince, carrot, ham, cheese, sweet corn, egg and milk. The empanadas were triangular in shape. They needed to be folded on the sides in a special way so it could go in the oven.

We made the empanadas during our lunch time but it was worth it. At the end of the day the students that helped make the empanadas got an extra empanada because of their hard work to make them.

We are making a video called "Aprender Español es Divertida" which means "Learning Spanish is Fun". We think that making empanadas was a good idea because we would learn how to make them and so we would get an extra cooking lesson for the year (Sambit's opinion).I think making empandas was a good idea because I never made empanadas before and it we have had our last session for cooking this year (Roneel's comment).

By Sambit and Roneel

Kenneth said: The empanadas were pretty nice and similar to the ones I used used to have at my home. I already knew about empanadas because there was a fast food place in my home country (Philipines) where I used to get them. My favourite fillings are mince with cheese. The ones we made were a bit bigger that the ones I used to have.

Rebekah said: It was really fun because I love cooking and I like learaning new recipes so I can try them at home with my family. I'm going to ask Mum to buy the ingredients next shopping day. I learned how to say the ingredients of the empanadas in Spanish- jamón y queso, huevos, zanahoria, carne picada y maiz de crema.

Daniel said: I think empanadas were yum. I tried only one flavour, sweet corn. I think sweet corn was the best. Learning Spanish is fun because it is quite easy. It is easier to learn Spanish more than English because my mind thinks it is. Soy de Korea.

Aminder said: Fue muy divertida. I think the best one was the mince one because it was healthy and I like mince. I would like to make empanadas at home and let my family taste them as well.

Te Ana said: Me gustan las empanadas. I think they are the best empanadas I have tried. I haven't tried any before. They kind of remind me of small pastry pies.

Mrs Vincent said: Me gustan las empanadas. Me recuerdan de la Argentina. I tried many types of empanadas when I was in Argentina.

Mrs Lee said: I learned how to make empanadas when I was staying with my friend Monica in Iguazu. Aprendi cocinar las empanadas cuando era en Iguzu con mi amiga Monica. When I was in Argentina I used to go to a take-away shop which sold only empanadas. You can buy special circles of empanada pastry in a pack - a bit like a pack of won ton pastry- so you can easily make your own at home too.

How to Make Empanadas by Mrs Lee

First you need puff pastry, beef mince, cream corn, ham, cheese,eggs and carrot. You also need milk or egg for glazing.

Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Peel and grate a carrot.

Brown the mince and grated carrot in the pan. No oil is needed.

Hard boil an egg.

Cut the egg finely and add it to the cooked mince and carrot.

Grate the cheese and cut the ham into small pieces.

Open a tin of sweet corn.

Cut each of the pastry sheets into four.

Place a spoonful of a filling onto each quarter of pastry.

Wet the edges of the pastry with your fingers dipped in water (or use a pastry brush). Don't use too much water.

Fold the pastry square in half to make a triangle containing all the filling. Press down on the edges of pastry to stick them together.

Trim the end off the triangle to make the shape a bit more semicircular.

Roll the edges of pastry over to make a rope-like pattern. (Ask William for a demonstration - he is the best empanada folder we have ever seen).

Place the empanadas on baking paper on an oven tray.

Brush with beaten egg or milk.

Place in centre of oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes until golden.

Remove and leave for five minutes until cool enough to eat.

ENJOY!

These can be reheated but are best eaten straight away. (Why would there be any left over?)
Other fillings could include: chicken or smoked fish or anything you want.

Here are some photos of real empanadas in Argentina. These are photos Mrs Lee took of her friend Monica making empanadas. Can you follow the steps?

These emapandas were cooked in a hot frying pan.

These are Mrs Vincent's photos of empanadas...

Empanadas can come in other shapes as well.

So, when are you going to make empanadas?