Things are starting to move it seems... Just when I was starting to feel like 2011 wasnt going to be "the year" for me... I´ve started to finally get some attention from local media. Turth is I´m not much for patience. I´ve only started Cookie Sundays a couple of months ago, but I start getting anxious, I want comments, I want readers, I want feedbackm I wanna make it happen....
A couple of weeks ago I decided not to sit and waint anymore, and sent out a couple of letters. Turns out, people are willing to hear my out, and actually give me a chance to become part of their teams.
And thats how I´ve become a collaborator for local media Planeta Joy, and will be feeding them simple recipes for people who cant cook.. I´ll also be giving Sedimentality some ideas on Argentinean food, and will be writing up articles for restaurant guide Guia Oleo (which is kind of a big deal).


I´ll be sharing links soon, but for now, I leave you with my first recipe for Sedimentality.   

Cheese Soufflé Empanadas  
An Argentinean classic with middle eastern roots.
Foods you don’t want to miss whenever you are traveling in Argentina include asado, locro, mate and exquisite empanadas.
Although the history of empanadas can be traced to middle eastern Iran, Argentina has adopted and adapted this classic filled pastry to make it its own since it colonization in the 15^th century,  and they are truly unique. Juicy, spicy, fried, baked… you name it, and it can describe an empanada! Every region has their own staple recipe, from juicy sweet meat Salteñas to modern caprese in Palermo, you can find it all.
Empanadas are the perfect compliment to start a pizza feast, as an appetizer for any dish, and accompanied with soup and salad can make for a light but very delish lunch.  You can even do small cute empanadas to serve as finger food with a glass of wine or beer at a cocktail party.
This is a very very “easy-pleasy” recipe for empanadas. It calls for pre-made pastry and ingredients that you’ll surely have at home in your fridge.  They can be prepared ahead and frozen for up to 2 months, and they go straight to the oven, no need to thaw.


Recipe
Yield: 10 -12 empanadas
Ingredients:

• 1 sheet puff pastry, rolled out thin
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheese (you can use a mixture of parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, any kind you like… you can even just use the grated parmesan cheese that you buy to eat with your pasta)
• ½ tsp garlic powder (according to taste)
• 1 ½  tsp red pepper flakes
• Black peppercorn to taste
• Salt to taste

1. Lightly beat the eggs.
2. Add salt, pepper flakes, black pepper, garlic and mix.
3. Add the grated or shredded cheese, the mixture should still have somewhat of a liquid consistency.
4. Roll out pastry thinly and cut into 12-18 cm diameter circles tracing a small plate or bowl.
5. Put filling in the center making sure to pinch one side quickly in order to hold in the egg mix
6. Folding (important). There are different techniques to folding your empanadas. One very simple method is to water the edges and fold over making edges meet, and then press the edges with a fork. This seals well and looks pretty.  Another way (the one you can see in the pictures) is to fold and make end meet, and then you use your fingers to go pinching the edges. You can pinch them with a fork to make sure steam can come out during cooking (don’t do this if you’re going to fry them).
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 to 15 minutes at 400 degrees F

The result: you should have a cheese soufflé like filling inside a golden crunchy pastry.
Next time I’ll teach you how to make your own pastry and go really Argentine style with groundbeef filling (a couple of options from different regions).
An extra tip for perfect empanadas… very well preheated oven, and making sure you don’t have any air inside when you fold your empanadas.