It’s the first day of our Alaska tour and we’re in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Me and Tom Dad offered many thanks to Andy who made 6, shoe size empanadas to get us through our last night of packing and our first day of driving. Not only did these serve the functional purpose of cleaning out all our leftover produce in the fridge but they provided us with some sturdy road food.

Andy’s Treasure Box Empanadas

Filling:
4 medium fingerlings, diced
4 carrots, diced
1 candy striped beet, diced
whole head of garlic, diced
1 bunch kale, chopped
1 bunch dandelion greens, chopped
1/2 head of Napa cabbage
1 pound fresh fava beans, shelled
1 bunch fresh sage, chopped
1 bunch fresh oregano, chopped
3 TBS cup olive oil
2 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
4 TBS blue cheese
1 cup fresh made ricotta (Carmen had to use up the rest of our raw milk)
1/2 cup parmesan
1 esp salt
pepper to taste

Dough (all with locally milled flour):
2 cups spring wheat
1 cup buckwheat
1 cup milk
6 TBS butter
2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees.

2. Make the dough and let rise 1 hour while preparing the filling. Andy uses a food processor to mix and then he kneeded it by hand.

3. Saute the root vegetables 5-10 min, add garlic and fava beans saute 2 min, add greens soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and 1/4 cup water. Cover and steam until greens are tender.

4. Combine vegetables with cheeses, salt, pepper, and herbs. Let cool.

5. Divide the dough into 6 portions. Cover and let rise 20 min.

6. Roll out the dough pieces into a oblong shape. Put one cup filling on 1/2, then fold over and seal.

7. Bake for 30 min or until golden brown.

The smell of these empanadas baking was as heavenly as the taste.
We ate them in the car with cucumber, tomato olive oil salad.