Potato, Corn and Goat Cheese Empanadas with Avocado Chimichurri
Celebrate potatoes with these potato, corn and goat cheese empanadas with avocado chimichurri dipping sauce!
This post was sponsored by the US Potato Board. I was compensated for my time Thanks for supporting the brands I love that make Avocado A Day possible!
Is there a more underappreciated food than the humble potato? I certainly can't think of one. It's a sad fact when you think about it. I mean, how many meals have potatoes graced your plate, nourishing your body and providing hearty sustenance? Yet 15 years after most of us realized low carb isn't a sustainable way to live, potatoes still don't get the love they deserve.
Tear. ?
Outside the US however, potatoes are celebrated for the fabulous food that they are. Rather than being thrown on a plate as an afterthought, potatoes are the star. Think patatas bravas in Spain, aloo gobi in India, bubble and squeak in England, gnocchi in Italy, and colcannon in Ireland. That's why I'm so excited about the theme for the campaign with the US Potato Board, Celebrating Potatoes Around the World.
About five years ago, I traveled to the home of potatoes - Peru. Did you know the potato was first cultivated in the Andes? I didn't either until that trip! Crazy to think now that potatoes are so ubiquitous around the world, but they only began their spread around the world 400 or so years ago. While we're just starting to see more of a variety of potatoes in grocery stores, South America got about 8,000 years to head start. There are over 3,000 (!!!) varieties of potatoes in South America. We saw hundreds at the local markets...and it feels like we ate hundreds too while we were there.
Because of that, I wanted to create a recipe featuring potatoes that was inspired by that trip! I ate a ton of empanadas while I was there, including a yummy potato, cheese and vegetable filled one.
Potato, Corn and Goat Cheese Empanadas with Avocado Chimichurri
Makes 8
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for rolling the dough
⅔ cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3 Tablespoons coconut or almond milk
1 egg whisked with a little water for an egg wash
Filling:
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 medium potatoes, in ½ inch dice
½ red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb frozen corn
1½ teaspoons chili powder
6 oz baby spinach
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
Avocado Chimichurri:
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
½ cup cilantro, packed
3 garlic cloves, minced
Juice of ½ lime
Instructions:
First, make the filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every so often, until starting to get golden, about 10 minutes. Add red onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add corn and chili powder, stir and cook until corn is lightly charred and potatoes are cooked through. Stir in spinach and cook until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Mix flour, coconut oil and salt together in a large bowl with fingers until it forms a sandy consistency. In a small bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Pour into flour and mix until it forms a ball of dough. Add another tablespoon or two of almond milk if it’s too crumbly. Refrigerate 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
Remove dough from the fridge and place on a well floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough until it’s about ⅛th inch thickness. Using cutter or a rim of a mixing bowl, cut out circles. I used a 5-inch bowl and it yielded 8 empanadas. Feel free to make yours larger or smaller.
Scoop a little filling onto one half of the dough round, leaving room around the rim. Crumble a little goat cheese over the top. Fold the other side of the dough over the top of the fillings. Press down with a fork around the edges. Repeat with remaining dough, reserving any leftover filling. Brush the top of the empanadas with the egg wash. Place in the oven and bake 30-35 minutes until golden.
While empanadas are cooking, blend avocado, cilantro, garlic and lime juice in a food processor. Season with salt to taste.
Serve empanadas warm with dipping sauce.
More Potato Dishes from Around the World:
Chicken and Romesco with Kale Mashed Potatoes
Chorizo Tempeh and Potato Tacos
Mixed Potatoes Anna