Recipe: Corn and Kale Empanadas

A seasonal recipe with ingredients straight from the farmers market.

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Recipe: Corn and Kale Empanadas

Ingredients:

DOUGH:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup warm water

FILLING:
5 ears corn
1 large onion
1 small bunch kale
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb mozzarella

Yields 12 empanadas

DOUGH

For the dough, ideally you want to use a standing mixer, like a KitchenAid. If you don't have one, you will do a lot of stirring and kneading, but you can definitely still do it and get a serious arm workout.

Mix the dry ingredients together. If you are using a mixer, slowly add the water and oil to the dry mixture with the mixer on low speed. If you are not using a mixer, alternate adding small amounts of water and oil, stirring constantly. Once a dough forms, keep mixing for two to three minutes. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead for three minutes.

Form the dough into a ball, and wrap it up in plastic wrap. Set it aside for at least 15 minutes.

FILLING

Start with the corn. Set some water to boil. Shuck the corn, and cook it until it’s done about six minutes or so (You know when corn is done because it smells like corn.). Take it out and let it cool. Once it is cool enough to handle, you're going to cut the kernels off the cob. Stand the ear on one end and slice down the ear with a sharp knife, cutting the kernels off, rotating the ear to get all of the corn. Throw the cobs out, and put the kernels in a big bowl.

Peel the onion, and dice it. Set a pan over a medium flame, and add some olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and stir. Cook until translucent, stirring occasionally, and turn off flame.

Now to the kale. Wash the kale, and pull the leaves off the stem, ripping the leaves into medium-sized pieces. Set the kale to steam, either in a pan with some water, or using a steamer basket over an inch of water in a pot. Kale cooks fast, in about three minutes. It's done when it's dark green and tender. Be careful not to overcook it, or it loses its vibrant color and nutrients.

Finally, shred the mozzarella. Mix the corn, kale, onion and mozzarella in a bowl. Set aside.

BAKE

Set your oven to pre-heat at 375 F.

To assemble the empanadas, go back to your dough. Unwrap the dough, and break it into 12 even pieces. Roll the pieces into small balls with your hands. Sprinkle some flour on your rolling surface (like a counter) and then roll the dough out into flat discs using a rolling pin.

Put about two tablespoonfuls of the filling onto one half of the disc. You will be folding the other half over onto the filling, making a half-moon shaped empanada. If you imagine the disc as a flat circle, you are filling half the circle and leaving the other half empty. Dipping your finger into some water, wet the edge of the dough around the filling, and fold the empty half over onto the filling. Press the edges down with a fork, and place your beautiful empanada on an oiled baking sheet.
Bake empanadas for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Set aside to cool, then enjoy!