Recipe: Lobster Empanadas (Empanadas de Bariloche)

LOBSTER EMPANADAS
(EMPANADAS DE BARILOCHE)
Source: Argentina Cooks!: Treasured Recipes from the Nine Regions of Argentina by Shirley Lomax Brooks

High in the Andes, near the border with Chile, is the all-season splendor of San Carlos de Bariloche. At Christmastime it's a fairyland of cobalt lakes, forested islands, and manicured parklands surrounded by snow-capped alpine peaks. In the center of a small peninsula stands the rustic but elegant Llao Llao Hotel, a holiday mecca for the elite of Buenos Aires, Santiago, and even Paris, D sseldorf, London, Madrid and Milan. When not attending the hotel's casino (closed as of this writing), guests spend their time dining in exquisite surroundings on international cuisine as well as impeccably fresh seafood from the Pacific coast of Chile. Hence, recipes such as Empanadas de Bariloche frequently straddle the border.

PASTRY:
1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
6 to 8 tablespoons very cold water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
FILLING:
6 ounces fresh lobster or langostino meat, cooked, shelled and roughly chopped (or saltwater or fresh water crayfish)
1/2 cup alioli or homemade mayonnaise
1/3 cup finely chopped scallions, including green part
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon cognac
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coarse kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
FOR ASSEMBLY:
2 to 3 hard-boiled eggs, cut lengthwise into 8 pieces
16 to 20 pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons water

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, 3 to 4 minutes.

Flour both the work surface and rolling pin. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 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, scallions, tomato puree, cognac, mustard, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Set the filling aside and keep it cool until you are ready to fill the empanadas.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Oil a large cookie sheet or line it with Silpat.

ASSEMBLY DIRECTIONS:
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 1 or 2 olives in the filling and fold the dough over the filling forming a half-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 350F 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 F oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Makes 8 to 10 main course empanadas or 20 to 25 hors d'oeuvre-sized empanaditas.