Spanish Pork Empanadas with Deep Sofrito Filling

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Baked empanadas built on a slowly reduced sofrito of onion, pepper and tomato folded through ground pork with smoked paprika and sherry. The filling is cooked until almost dry, which is the whole trick: no steam means the store-bought discs bake up shatteringly crisp instead of soggy. Make a double batch and freeze them raw for later.

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lb ground pork
• 2 tsp sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 1/2 tsp hot smoked paprika or pinch cayenne
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/3 cup dry sherry (fino or manzanilla)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp Spanish green olives, chopped
• 2 tbsp golden raisins, chopped (optional)
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

• 16 discs frozen empanada discs (5-inch), thawed, or 2 sheets puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water
• 1 tsp all-purpose flour, for dusting
• flaky sea salt, for sprinkling

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and red bell pepper with 1/2 tsp of the salt and cook slowly, stirring often, for 15 to 18 minutes, until very soft, sweet and just starting to catch gold at the edges. This slow start is what makes the sofrito taste like more than sauteed vegetables. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Push the vegetables to one side, raise heat to medium-high, and add the ground pork. Break it up with a wooden spoon and cook 6 to 8 minutes until no pink remains and some of it has browned. Season with the remaining 3/4 tsp salt and the black pepper.
3. Stir in both paprikas, the cumin and the tomato paste. Cook 60 to 90 seconds, stirring constantly, until the paste darkens a shade and the pan smells toasty — do not let the paprika scorch.
4. Pour in the sherry and scrape the pan bottom clean. Simmer until the alcohol smell is gone, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and bay leaf, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the mixture is thick and glossy and a spoon dragged across the pan leaves a clear trail with no liquid pooling. It should look almost dry. Discard the bay leaf.
5. Off the heat, stir in the olives, raisins if using, and parsley. Taste and adjust salt. Spread the filling on a sheet pan and refrigerate at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days) until completely cold — warm filling melts the pastry fat and guarantees a soggy bottom. Fold in the chopped hard-boiled eggs once cold.
6. Heat the oven to 400°F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two sheet pans with parchment. If using puff pastry, roll each thawed sheet on a lightly floured counter to about 12 inches square and cut out eight 5-inch rounds total using a bowl as a guide.
7. Lay a disc on the counter and place 2 heaping tablespoons of cold filling slightly off-center. Brush the border with egg wash, fold into a half-moon, and press out the air as you seal. Press the rim with the tines of a fork, or fold and pinch a repulgue rope edge. Repeat with the rest, spacing them 1 inch apart on the pans.
8. Brush the tops with egg wash, cut a small 1/2-inch vent slit in each, and sprinkle with flaky salt. Bake 22 to 26 minutes, rotating the pans top-to-bottom at the 14-minute mark, until deeply golden and firm on the bottom. Puff pastry versions may need 26 to 30 minutes.
9. While they bake, whisk the mayonnaise, grated garlic, smoked paprika, lemon juice and a pinch of salt together. Chill until serving.
10. Let the empanadas rest 5 minutes on the pan — the filling is molten straight from the oven — then serve warm with the paprika aioli.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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