Jalapeno Pork Empanadas with Pickled Red Onions

So it was time to repurpose more leftovers.  When we made our Jalapeno-Roast Pork we ended up with a lot of leftovers.  And I mean a lot.  When you roast an entire 6 plus pound pork shoulder for two people you end up with at least a few pounds of leftovers.  So Alex and I each had a serving of roast pork with rice and cabbage.  And there was still an entire medium tupperware packed to the brim with pork.  So I was trying to figure out what to do with the leftover pork and this evening I came up with the brilliant idea (if I do say so myself) to make pork empanadas with the pork, some pickled red onions, and cheese.  Fontina cheese was the cheese that came to mind, but we made do with mozzarella.  And we did have empanada dough in the freezer, but I figured that it would take far longer to defrost than a few sheets of puff pastry.  And who doesn't love the buttery goodness of puff pastry?  So I called Alex and told him that we were going to make empanadas for dinner.  Alex wasn't 100% on board at first, but he was easily convinced.  Thanks hon!

Anyway, I really enjoyed these empanadas (really they were more like turnovers because we used puff pastry dough, but turnovers just sounds so frou-frou) and not just because they were my idea.  The flavors went really well together and the pork was completely reinvented.  It made me really really happy.  Alex thought that the empanadas could use some sort of sauce, but I thought they were perfect without.  He suggested a "spicy cilantro sauce."  I'm not sure how I feel about that suggestion, but it could be very interesting.  Depending on your personal tastes you might want to alter the ratio of pork to pickled onion and mozzarella.  I really enjoyed the proportions we used, but Alex would have cut down on the amount of onion and added more cheese.  Oh and on the subject of these onions - they are delicious.  They have just a hint of heat from the jalapenos, and a lovely tart sweetness from the vinegar.  I think they would be really nice with brisket (or another fatty meat), or served on top of nachos or quesadillas.  Actually, you could make a pretty mean pork quesadilla with the leftover Jalapeno-Roast Pork and Oaxaca cheese (or maybe Monterey Jack) and serve it with the pickled red onions, some cilantro and a little sour cream.  That sounds delicious too.

Recipes after the jump!

Jalapeno Pork Empanadas with Pickled Red Onions

INGREDIENTS:

2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted

1/2 cup leftover Jalapeno-Roast Pork, chopped or pulled into small pieces

3 tbsp pickled red onions (recipe down below)

1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1 egg, lightly beaten to create egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  

Combine pork, onions and shredded mozzarella in a mixing bowl.

Flatten puff pastry sheets out.  The puff pastry should be roughly 1/4-inch thick, so if your pastry is thicker, roll it out with a rolling pin to the desired thickness.  Using a sharp knife, cut puff pastry into circles that are roughly 5-6 inches in diameter (if you have a bowl around that size, use it as a pattern and cut around it).  Top puff pastry with 2-3 tbsp of of filling.  Fold empanada dough over filling to form half-moon shape.  Using a fork, seal the edges of the empanada.  Arrange empanadas on a rimmed baking sheet (our baking sheet was already nonstick, but if your baking sheet is not, you might want to spray it lightly with nonstick cooking spray).  Brush with egg wash.

Bake empanadas in the oven until crust is golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Serve.

Pickled Red Onions

Adapted from Crescent City Cooking: Unforgettable Recipes from Susan Spicer's New Orleans

By Susan Spicer

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup cider vinegar

1 jalapeno, cut in half lengthwise and half of the seeds removed

1 medium red onion, very thinly sliced

2 tsp orange zest

Bring sugar, salt and vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan.  Meanwhile, place onion and jalapeno in a large heatproof mixing bowl.  Pour the hot vinegar over the vegetables.  Stir to mix, then let them sit until cool.  Pour the liquid back into the saucepan and bring it to a boil.  Reduce it by about half, until almost syrupy.  Return the vinegar mixture into the bowl with the onions and jalapenos.