Week 1: Empanadas

The Recipe
5 dl flour
10g fresh yeast
4 tbsp melted butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 dl lukewarm water
1 egg
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
175 g bacon, chopped
salt, pepper

Mix the yeast with salt and let it dissolve. Add water, butter and flour and mix thoroughly. Leave the dough to raise for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the filling:
Warm the oil in a pan. Add onion and garlic and cook at high heat for 2 minutes. Add bacon, bell peppers and tomatoes and reduce the heat. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper according to taste.

Now make the Empanadas:
Preheat the oven to 200C. Roll out the dough until it's about 3mm thick. Cut the dough into 12 pieces. Place a bit of the filling on about half of the piece - it shouldn't reach the edges. Paste the edges with some whipped egg and fold the empanadas over. Use a fork to press the edges together.

Place them on a baking sheet and bake them for about 15 minutes until they're golden brown.

Serve them with a dipping sauce of your choice.

The Verdict
A HUGE job to make! And I obviously didn't manage to roll the dough thinly enough, so some of the empanadas seemed to be more dough than filling. It did taste very, very good though - especially with a tomato-cheese sauce or ali oli for dipping. Wouldn't be worth it for an everyday meal, but adds a nice touch to a fancy tapas supper.