Butternut Squash and Sage Empanadas
Using a nifty shortcut ingredient--canned biscuits--makes delicious short-order empanadas with any filling you like. This butternut squash, caramelized onion and sage filling is so very falls!
Ingredients
filling
- 4 cups butternut squash cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter + 1 tablespoon
- 2 large sweet onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar + 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (or more if desired)
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh sage, minced (or 3 teaspoons dried)
- 2 cups grated cheese, such as smoked gouda, fontina, etc
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme and or sage, chopped (or ½ teaspoon dried)
dough
- 2 cans refrigerated biscuits (8 in each) such as Grands best not to use any butter flavored ones
- 1 egg lightly beaten for wash
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil onto a large sheet pan and spread it all around the pan. Lay the squash chunks on the sheet pan in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes or under tender and just starting to brown. Set aside to cool.While squash is cooking, melt the butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet and cook the onions over medium low heat with the sugar and salt, stirring occasionally until soft and tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in cayenne. Spread out onto a sheet pan and let cool. Mix in roasted squash, cheese and herbs. Separate dough in the two cans into 16 biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half to make a total of 32 pieces. Roll each piece out, on a lightly floured surface to a 4" circle. (If the dough keeps springing back, let it rest a bit) Spoon a nice tablespoon full of the squash and onion filling onto each round. Fold dough over filling, forming a half moon. Press edges closed, using a floured fork to seal. Place on a parchment lined sheet pan a few inches apart. Let chill for at least 30 minutes or 15 minutes in the freezer. You can prepare these up to this step and freeze or keep chilled until ready to bake.Preheat oven to 350º. Brush with egg wash just before baking. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. If baking frozen empanadas, add about 10 minutes of cooking time. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Change up the filling with anything you can dream up.
Some of my favorite combinations:
Sausage and Dried Figs
Ground Beef, Onions, Raisin and Cayenne, Picadillo style
Chicken, Olives, Cilantro
Potato, Jalapeño and Corn
Curried Vegetables
Turkey Leftovers, with Stuffing and Cranberries
Chicken Pot Pie Filling
Pumpkin and Cream Cheese
Fruit Jam, Oats, Nuts and Brown Sugar