Spinach and Edam Empanadas

Method8 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Wash the spinach (½ cup), drain it thoroughly and chop enough to measure ½ cup. Knead it with all 2 cups ready fresh corn masa and 1 tsp salt until evenly combined. Use hydrated fresh masa ready for tortillas, rather than dry masa harina.

   Uses 2 cups ready fresh corn masa, hydrated for tortillas · ½ cup chopped spinach · 1 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt · Water for washing the spinach, as needed

2. 2

   Step 2: Divide the dough into eight golf-ball-size portions. Roll each into a ball, flatten it between pieces of food-safe plastic, and press into a round about ⅛ inch thick using your fingers or a tortilla press.

   Uses All the spinach-masa dough

3. 3

   Step 3: Put ½ cup grated cheese on one side of each round, using all 4 cups across the eight empanadas. Fold into half-moons and press the edges closed, using the plastic to support the masa. Remove the plastic from every assembled empanada.

   Uses All eight pressed rounds · 4 cups grated Dutch Edam cheese, divided into eight ½-cup fillings

4. 4

   Step 4: In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat a ½-inch-deep layer of vegetable oil to 325°F / about 163°C. Use a frying thermometer and have a paper-towel-lined draining plate ready.

   Uses Vegetable oil for frying

5. 5

   Step 5: Carefully put an uncrowded batch of empanadas into the hot oil. Fry the first face for 2–3 minutes, checking from 2 minutes, until crisp and golden before turning.

   Check the first empanada face · 2 minUses The assembled empanadas that fit one uncrowded frying batch · The hot frying oil

6. 6

   Step 6: Turn the empanadas carefully and fry their second face for another 2–3 minutes, checking from 2 minutes, until the masa is crisp and golden on both sides and the filling is hot and melted.

   Check the second empanada face · 2 minUses The first-face-fried empanadas to turn · The hot frying oil for the second face

7. 7

   Step 7: Lift the cooked empanadas onto the paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Bring the retained oil back to 325°F and repeat the first- and second-face procedure with the remaining empanadas, without crowding the pan. Drain every batch and keep the oil separate from the finished food.

   Uses The cooked empanadas to lift from the oil · The frying oil remaining in the pan · The assembled empanadas still waiting to fry

8. 8

   Step 8: Serve the eight empanadas warm, with ready warmed salsa roja or another salsa of your choice if desired.

   Uses All eight fried empanadas lifted from the draining plate · Salsa roja (of your choice, warmed, optional)