Empanada - Home Economics

 Empanada 

What are you developing?    

We are making a healthy dish where there are a lot of nutrients you can get.

What healthy dishes have we made so far? 

• Stir fry 
• Smoothies 
• Frittata
• Mexican chicken
• Spring rolls
• Apple crumble
• Muffins
• Vegetarian nachos
• Open steak sandwich
• Mac n cheese 
• Nachos

Who is the product for? The people in our group

Why are you making this product? We are making this product to showcase the Mexican, Latin American, European and Filipino Culture. 

What flavours and colours go together? 

Beef + Potato + Carrots + Cheese + Seasonings (Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper)

Capsicum + Mince Pork + Peas  + Corn +  Seasonings (Chilli Flakes)

Chicken + Potato + Raisins + Seasonings (Salt and Pepper)

Vegetarian: 

Potato + Capsicum + Peas + Seasonings (Salt and Pepper)

Corn + Carrots + Raisins + Potato + Seasonings (Salt and Pepper) 

How to make your healthy dish appealing and attractive?

We are going to make this dish healthy by filling it with proteins such as chicken, fish, beef. Vitamins and minerals from vegetables such as corn, potatoes, etc. 

We will make it look more attractive, by adding colourful vegetables, maybe adding meat depending on the people who like meat as it looks more appetizing. We want to make the dough wrapping look more interesting or pretty. By using a fork on the edge creating a nice ridge or rim. 

What are the pros (good) and cons (bad) of these recipes?

Pros: 

• It has a lot of nutrients and benefits such as providing energy if we were to use potatoes since it has starch in it. 
• Because of the ingredients, this can be food that lasts long, as it has complex foods in it and macronutrients. 

Cons: 

• A classic way of making it is by adding meat into it so maybe some people might be vegetarians. 
• Depending on the ingredients it may not be so healthy.

Modifications - do you need to modify (change) anything? Add a healthier filling by putting vegetables together

What macro and micronutrients are in your dish?

Macronutrients: 

• Potatoes
• Carrots
• Eggs  
• Peas
• Butchery NZ Premium Beef Mince
• Butchery NZ Pork Mince 
• Butchery NZ Chicken Tenderloins 
• Produced Red Capsicum 
• Value Whole Kernel Corn 
• Meadow Fresh Traditional Sour Cream
• Mainland Tasty Grated Cheese 

Micronutrients:

• Salt & Pepper & Cayenne Pepper
• Chilli Flakes 
• Value Raisins 
• Trident Sweet and Chilli Sauce 

Shopping List: 

Resource: Pak n Save

• Farmer Brown Size 7 Eggs - 12pk ($3.29) 
• Produce Carrots - 100g ($0.27)  = ($0.81)
• Value Potatoes - 3kg ($4.99)
• Value Garden Peas - 1kg ($2.09)
• Butchery NZ Premium Beef Mince - 100g ($1.40)
• Butchery NZ Pork Mince - 100g ($1.60)
• Butchery NZ Chicken Tenderloins - 100g ($1.80) 
• Produced Red Capsicum - ($0.95)
• Value Whole Kernel Corn - 410g ($0.95)
• Chilli Flakes - 20g ($2.09)
• Value Raisins - 400g ($3.09)
• Meadow Fresh Traditional Sour Cream - 250g ($2.79) for Dip-In-Sauce
• Trident Sweet and Chilli Sauce - 285g ($1.99) for Dip-In-Sauce
• Mainland Tasty Grated Cheese - 375g ($7.29)

Total: $35.45

Ingredients + Method: 

• 450 g sirloin steak
• olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 large onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 fresh red chilli
• ½ tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 20 g black olives (stone in)
• 1 tablespoon tomato purée
• ½ an organic beef stock cube
• 1 large free­-range egg
• 500 g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 150 g unsalted butter (cold)

Resource: https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-empanadas/

1. To make the pastry, combine the flour, baking powder and 1 teaspoon of sea salt in a large bowl. Finely chop or coarsely grate the butter, then rub into the dry mix until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Mix in just enough cold water to bring it together, then wrap in clingfilm and pop in the fridge for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, finely chop and add the sirloin with 1 tablespoon of oil to a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove to a plate.
4. Peel and finely chop the garlic and onion. Deseed and finely chop the pepper and chilli, then add to the frying pan over medium-low heat. Stir in the paprika and cumin, and fry for 10 minutes, or until softened.
5. Crush the olives with the flat side of your knife, pull out and discard the stones, then finely chop the flesh.
6. Add the purée to the pan and crumble in the stock cube. Fry for a further minute, then add the olives and 100ml of boiling water. Bring to the boil, season lightly with sea salt and black pepper.
7. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes over a medium heat, or until the liquid has almost completely evaporated. Return the beef and any resting juices to the pan, stir well, then leave to cool completely.
8. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
9. Divide the pastry into 14 equal pieces, then roll each portion into 14cm circles and the thickness of a pound coin – use a biscuit cutter or saucer for an accurate round.
10. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling onto the middle of each pastry round, brush the edges with a little beaten egg, then fold them over the filling to make a semi-circle. Press the edges together with a fork to seal, then place onto a large, lightly greased baking tray.
11. Brush the empanadas with the beaten egg and bake in the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Leave to rest for a few minutes, then serve on a platter.

Evaluation 

5 Senses:

Sight: It doesn't look appealing because we ran out of time when we were filling the puff pastry because as soon as we got the filling out of the pan. We put it straight in the puff pastry and it melted it. There were small holes on the pastry because it melted so the filling was clearly visible. It was pale but had a brownish golden colour due to the egg. When you bite into it, you can see every ingredient that was used, it was very colourful.

Touch: The texture outside was crunchy because we used an egg to brush the dough. Inside, it was soft because of the potatoes and carrots and juicy due to the chicken and beef.

Smell: It smells really good, aromatic due to the combinations of different ingredients.

Taste: The fillings tasted good despite its appearance, it was cheesy and a bit spicy. Pleasant on the taste buds.

Hear: When you bite into it, you can hear the crunch. 

What are my thoughts? It was surprisingly good, although the shape was a fail, the fillings inside were good and it tasted better than I expected it to be. 

What needs to be worked on?

I think that we didn't have bad time management, it only seems like that's the reason but the real reason was we didn't have enough time to cook the fillings because there were a lot of ingredients. We had an hour to make it but it didn't feel like an hour. We ran out of time but managed to cook the empanadas although it needed a little bit more time to be cooked. 

I think what also needs to improve is knowing what to do and how to collaborate as part of the group. Some of the people in my group weren't working as fast as I wanted them to be. I did try to help as much as someone who has made and eaten empanada. Some also didn't know what to do, so that was my fault for not telling them before.

Expectations 

Reality