Venezuelan Empanada de Pollo Recipe
Chicken empanadas are made with a filling of stewed chicken, which is shredded after parboiling. It is a crispy and juicy recipe that you will love. It is easy to make and the ingredients are usually available in your pantry.
Ingredients
To parboil the chicken
- 1 unit chicken breast
- 1/2 unit onion
- 1 unit small carrot
- 1 unit celery stalk spain
- 1 tbsp Salt
For the chicken stuffing
- 1 unit Shredded chicken
- 1 unit chopped onion
- 1/2 unit chopped red pepper
- 1/2 unit chopped yellow paprika
- 1/2 unit chopped green paprika
- 2 unit chopped garlic cloves
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 pepper to taste
For the preparation of the dough
- 3 cups Chicken broth
- 1/2 tbsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp All-purpose wheat flour
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 2 1/2 cups Precooked corn flour
Instructions
Pre-preparation of the chicken
- The first thing to do is to place a pot over medium-high heat, add the chicken, half onion, carrot, celery stalk, salt and of course water to cover the ingredients.
- Cook for about 20 minutes until the breast is tender. If you do it in a pressure cooker the cooking time is less. Remove and let stand for a few minutes. Reserve the broth for the empanada dough.
- When it is no longer hot, proceed to shred the chicken with your hands or with the help of a fork. Reserve for the stew.
Preparation of chicken
- Place a large pot or skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little oil. Add the chopped onion, the different colored peppers and sauté for a few minutes.
- Then add the shredded chicken, thyme, tomato or tomato paste, minced garlic, salt to taste and pepper to taste. Stir to mix well. Cover and cook for a few minutes. Add the fresh parsley and check to see how juicy the chicken is, if it is, allow a few more minutes of cooking time.
Dough preparation
- For the preparation of the dough we will use chicken broth instead of water. This will give more flavor to the dough. Place three cups of chicken broth in a container. Add salt, sugar and wheat flour. Mix well. Then add the corn flour a little at a time and stir so that no lumps form in the dough. Add all the flour and proceed to knead until a suitable consistency is obtained. Divide the dough in equal parts.
Preparation of empanadas
- Cut a large piece of plastic wrap from a bag or any other piece of paper you can use. You have two options to prevent the dough from sticking: grease it a little or moisten it.
- Roll out each piece of dough on the plastic on a flat surface, until it is very thin (about 1/8 inch). You can flatten with a board if you find it easier.
- Place 2 tablespoons of filling in each circle of dough and fold it into semicircles (as you would do with a taco). Press the edges with your fingers to close them completely so that the filling does not leak out during cooking. You may need to moisten your fingertips with water before pressing the edges to prevent them from sticking during cooking.
- Cut circles with a cookie cutter or a glass (about 10 cm in diameter). You can also use a sharp knife or a pizza cutter if you don't have these tools at home or simply with a plate as in the picture.
- Remove the rest of the dough to clean the empanada.
- Place a large pot or frying pan with enough oil over medium-high heat. When it is very hot, place the empanadas in it, being careful not to burn yourself or damage or break the empanadas. Cook until they are well browned.
- Remove the empanadas and cook on absorbent paper to remove excess oil. Enjoy.
