Hibiscus empanadas

Step by step

1. Boil 470 ml of water. Add 30g of dried hibiscus flowers and boil for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 2 hours.

2. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until caramelized. Remove bacon. Discard all but 1 tbsp of bacon grease and add the onion to the pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook onion for 2 minutes until translucent.

3. Add butternut squash and poblano to the pan and cook for 10 minutes until tender. Stir occasionally so it browns on all sides.

4. Keep the steeping liquid to the side and add the hydrated and chopped hibiscus flowers, currants, salt, and pepper to the butternut squash. Mix to combine. Add adobo sauce and a generous drizzle of the hibiscus water. Mix to combine and remove from heat.

5. Once the mixture has cooled a bit, add crumbled queso and bacon. Set aside while you make the dough.

6. Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a Stand Mixer fitted with a Pastry Beater. Turn on speed 1 for 10 seconds just to mix.

7. In a small bowl, mix the egg and ice water. Add to the flour mixture. Mix on speed 2 until the liquid is incorporated into the dough (it will look sandy and/or shaggy), about 1 minute or less. If it looks too dry, you can add 1 additional tbsp of water.

8. Place a 60 cm piece of plastic wrap on a flat surface. Dump the dough onto the surface and briefly knead into a ball. Flatten the dough into a rectangle.

9. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

10. Dust a surface and a rolling pin with flour. Take each ball and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into approximately 6-inch rounds. Use more flour as needed for sticking. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Lay them on a parchment-lined sheet tray and cover tightly with plastic wrap while you work.

11. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

12. Place approximately 2 heaped tbsp. (40g) of filling in the center of each dough round. Fold the dough over and press gently to seal.

13. Press and crimp or use the tines of a fork to press and seal the empanada edges. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

14. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

15. Brush empanadas with the beaten egg. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

16. Tip: You can use a 12 cm cookie cutter to make crimping easier. This will give you a perfectly round shape. Match the ends of the dough when you fold over and go slowly to crimp the edge all the way around. This takes practice. Make a chimichurri hibiscus dip for your empanadas. Use 1 tbsp cooking oil, 60g dried hibiscus flowers, ½ chopped onion, 3 destemmed and deseeded red fresno peppers, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp olive oil, and ½ tsp salt. At this point, you should have 60g of hibiscus flowers hydrated from the filling note in step 1. Add the cooking oil to a large sauté pan. Sauté onions, garlic, and fresnos and cook on medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the flowers from the liquid and set aside. Add flowers to the pan and sauté for 1 more minute. Add the mix to a Stand Blender. Add the vinegar, honey, and salt. Make sure the blender is covered and set the blender to speed 8 and press the on button. Puree for 1 minute. Add hibiscus water to thin it out so that it can be blended easier. Pour into a bowl and add 1 tbsp of olive oil. Taste the chimichurri to adjust any salt or sweetness. Serve immediately.