WASHINGTON 鈥� If you love chocolate, chances are you鈥檙e a fan of October鈥檚 National Chocolate Day. And those crazy about caramel likely look forward to April 5, otherwise known as National Caramel Day.
Empanada enthusiasts, April 8 is your turn to celebrate.
Every day, it seems, a different food is recognized 鈥� from lima beans to pancakes to escargot 鈥� and it鈥檚 all thanks to a robust registry of .
Some of these food holidays are legitimate 鈥� meaning聽a was issued by the President of the United States. (You can thank President Reagan for and President Clinton for .) Others, however, are simply invented by individuals and food interest groups.
But one thing鈥檚 for sure: When empanadas are on the calendar, it hardly matters whether the observance is official 鈥� at least, that鈥檚 Matt Zagorski鈥檚 mentality.
Zagorski is the executive chef at in D.C.鈥檚 Penn Quarter neighborhood. Every day, his kitchen serves between 200 and 400 empanadas. But when $1 empanadas are on the menu for聽National Empanada Day, they get closer to 900.
Empanadas are a popular pocket food traditional to Latin American and Spanish cultures. The name comes from the Spanish word empanar, which means 鈥渢o bread,鈥� and the options for filling the pasty-like dough are endless.
鈥淭he cool part is, empanadas can be whatever you want them to be. They can have a cheese filling; they can have pork; they can have beef; they can have chicken,鈥� says Zagorski, who serves four types of empanadas at Cuba Libre, including ham, chicken, ground beef and cheese.
During April, Zagorski also offers a goat cheese and sour-cherry dessert empanada, and a black corn-shell lobster empanada. 鈥淚t鈥檚 endless 鈥� endless with what you can put in it and endless different kinds of dough.鈥�
Empanadas also vary in their folds, a characteristic that鈥檚 unique to each family. At Cuba Libre, the empanadas are named after the mother of the restaurant鈥檚 concept chef, Guillermo Pernot; they’re called Mam谩 Amelia鈥檚 empanadas. Zagorski explains that learning the different empanada folds was an important part of Pernot鈥檚 childhood.
鈥淔irst he would just make the cheese fold, then there would be a regular fold, and as he got older, his mom would ask him to make more complicated stuff. So you sort of graduate up as you go in your family,鈥� Zagorski says.
鈥淏ecause they鈥檙e made by mom or grandma, the folds are traditional per family. 鈥� So basically, it鈥檚 instilling and learning your heritage as you鈥檙e growing up 鈥� [you learn] how this stuff was done before, because I鈥檓 pretty sure your great-grandmother did it the same way your grandmother鈥檚 showing you.鈥�
One of the best things about empanadas, Zagorski says, is that they are relatively easy to make at home, and are especially good for grab-and-go lunches and snacks. (He shares his favorite recipes and a video demonstration below.)
Of course, if you鈥檇 rather have a chef guide you the first time around, Zagorski will lead an empanada cooking class at Cuba Libre on April 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets to class, which include cocktails, tapas and empanadas, are $65.
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Watch Cuba Libre executive chef聽Matt Zagorski demonstrate how to make empanadas:
Recipe: Empanada de la Casa
Hand-chopped chicken, corn, sweet peppers and Jack cheese
Created by Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar鈥檚 Concept Chef Guillermo Pernot
Ingredients:
- 10 empanada discs
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken thigh
- 1 tablespoon blended oil
- 陆 cup onions, small dice
- 1 ear corn, kernels stripped
- 0.15 ounces Kosher salt
- 陆 teaspoon dried oregano
- 录 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 4 ounces聽Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Directions:
Partially freeze the chicken.聽 Dice partially frozen chicken very finely, or grind to medium if possible. (You can also purchase ground chicken.) Strip corn kernels from the ear of corn.聽 In a saut茅 pan, heat oil and saut茅 onions until softened, but do not pick up any color.聽 Add the ground chicken, oregano and crushed red pepper.聽 Cook chicken about halfway and then add corn and salt.聽 Finish cooking, adjust seasoning and cool the mixture.聽 Once cool, add cheese before assembling empanadas.
Make an egg wash from the eggs and water; whisk well to combine.聽 Fill each empanada disc with 1.75 ounces of filling.聽 Brush the edges of the disc with egg wash and close.聽 Press and crimp edge to seal.聽 Prepare a cookie sheet or baking dish by lining with parchment paper and spraying with nonstick spray.聽 Place empanadas on the sheet and bake at 400掳F for eight minutes.聽 After eight minutes, remove from the oven and brush tops with a thin layer of egg wash.聽 Return to the oven and bake until golden brown, about three to five聽minutes.
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Recipe: Queso Empanada
Mozzarella, Tetilla, Monterey Jack cheese and sweet roasted onions
Created by Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar鈥檚 concept chef, Guillermo Pernot
Ingredients:
- 20 empanada discs
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1陆 lbs. onions, 录 inch dice
- 1陆 ounces unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 5 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 3戮 ounces tetilla cheese, shredded
- 3戮 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 鈪� teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 陆 teaspoon Kosher salt
Directions:
In a heavy pan, sweat onions very slowly with butter and salt.聽 Allow to cook until very soft and just beginning to turn brown.聽 You do not want any color.聽 Once the onions are very soft, remove from the heat, add vinegar and allow the entire mixture to cool.
Toss the cooled onions with the three cheeses, nutmeg and salt.聽 Portion into 1陆-ounce balls. Place the ball of filling聽 in the center of the empanada disc, fold in half and crimp edges with a fork.聽 Combine eggs and water and brush empanada disc with egg wash. Cook the empanadas, either by baking or frying.
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Recipe: Beef Picadillo Empanadas
Ground beef, Manzanilla olives and raisins
Created by Cuba Libre Restaurant & Rum Bar鈥檚 Concept Chef Guillermo Pernot
Ingredients:
- 1.25 lbs. ground beef (coarse ground)
- 2 ounces red bell peppers, small dice
- 2 ounces green bell peppers, small dice
- 3 ounces onions, small dice
- 1 ounce raisins
- 1 Bay leaf
- 0.25 ounces minced garlic
- 0.5聽ounce聽Recaito (available in stores, such as Goya brand)
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 0.5 cup canned pur茅e tomatoes
- 1聽ounce聽tomato paste
- 1 tbsp. blend oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1 ounce聽red wine
- 20 empanada discs
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp. water
- 40 Manzanilla olives, diced
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large rondeau on medium-high heat and saut茅 the ground beef and bay leaf in the olive oil.聽When browned, remove meat and drain off some of the fat, leaving enough fat to cook the peppers (see the next step).聽Saut茅 the red peppers, green peppers, garlic and onions in remaining fat.聽Add Recaito, raisins, cumin, paprika and oregano. Cook for a while longer.聽Return the meat to the rondeau and stir well; add red wine, tomato pur茅e, and season to taste with salt and pepper.聽Add two diced Manzanilla olives per empanada.聽Add tomato paste and stir well; simmer for 20 minutes.聽Transfer to sheet聽pans and cool quickly.聽Once cooled, place meat in center of empanada discs and fold disc in half, pinching edges.聽Combine eggs and water to form an egg wash, and brush the wash on the empanadas.聽Cook by baking or frying.
