Lobster Empanadas

ingredients

• Pastry
• 1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
  1/3 pound whipped butter
  1/4 pound hydrogenated fat
  1/4 pound margarine
  1/4 pound olive oil
• 1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  1 dash baking soda & 2 tablespoons molasses
  1 dash baking soda & 1/4 cup sour milk/buttermilk/yogurt
  1 dash baking soda & 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup very cold water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Filling
• 3/4 cup fresh lobster or langostino meat, cooked, shelled and roughly chopped (or saltwater or fresh water crayfish)
• 1/2 cup alioli or homemade mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon tomato puré,e
• 1 tablespoon cognac
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, including green part
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 3 hard-boiled eggs, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces
• 18 pimiento-stuffed green olives
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons water

directions

Pastry Directions

Using a fork, combine the butter and cream cheese. Sift the flour over the mixture. Add baking powder, cumin, vinegar, and water and combine with a fork. Flour hands generously and work the dough until it becomes a smooth, elastic ball, 4 minutes. Flour both the work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the dough to about 0.125 inch thick and cut it into 6 inch circles for main course-sized empanadas. For appetizer-sized empanaditas, cut the dough into 3 inch circles. Cover the pastries with a lightly floured towel until you are ready to fill them.

Filling Directions

Combine the lobster, mayonnaise, tomato puré,e, cognac, mustard, scallions, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Set the filling aside and keep it cool until you are ready to fill the empanadas.

Assembly Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large cookie sheet or line it with Silpat. Spoon the filling in the center of the pastry circles —, about 2 tablespoons of filling for each main course empanada or 1 heaping teaspoon for empanaditas. Stuff an egg slice and 2 olives in the filling and fold the dough over the filling forming 0.5-moon. Beat the egg with the water to make a glaze. Moisten the open edges with the glaze and crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers to seal.

Place the empanadas on the cookie sheet and brush the top of each with the glaze. Bake them for 20 minutes, turn the heat down to 350 degrees and continue baking for about 5 minutes more or until the empanadas are golden. When the empanadas are done, remove them from the oven and cool them on racks for several minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

To freeze and reheat, place frozen cooked empanadas in a preheated 350 degrees oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Extra! Tips from Epicurious:

You don't need to boil an entire lobster to get the meat you need. Instead, get a Brazilian or Maine lobster tail (generally frozen) at your local fish market, 1 tail is usually enough to get 3/4 cup of lobster meat. To prep, simply defrost the tail in a bowl of room-temperature water, boil for approximately 6 minutes (the tail will float), and let cool before shelling and chopping.

Alioli is a garlicky Spanish mayonnaise, similar to French aï,oli. The brand Ybarra Ali-Oli is available online at www.spanishtable.com. Or try the Argentine brand Dá,nica Mayonesa, available online at www.amigofoods.com. If using Hellmann's, add lemon juice to taste to perk up the flavor.

Be careful not to overfill the empanadas, the lobster filling is rich, and a little goes a long way.

Suggested Argentine wines: Try 1 of the juicy Chardonnays from Mendoza, such as Nicolá,s Catena's honey-gold 233.8 degreesatena Alta Chardonnay (Bodega Catena Zapata, $32) or the impressive 2002 Trumpeter Chardonnay from Bodega La Rural (a steal at $9). Or, if you can find it, a 6-pack of ice-cold Quilmes, the Budweiser of Argentina, is refreshing and authentic.