These langostino and Andouille sausage empanadas are inspired by the flavors of Louisiana. One of the things I love about Louisiana creole food, besides that it brings back memories of my grandmother’s food, is the perfect combination of French and Spanish flavors. The empanada filling is made with langostino (or crawfish), Andouille sausage, onions, bell peppers, celery, Tabasco Garlic Pepper sauce, smoked paprika, green onions, and cilantro. It’s almost like a jambalaya without the rice (ok, yes a jambalaya isn’t really a jambalaya without rice, but the filling captures the essence of it).
I would have loved to use crawfish for these empanadas, but couldn’t find any in my neighborhood grocery store when I was preparing them, so I used langostino meat instead. The spicy filling can be made with crawfish, langostino or shrimp, depending on your preference or what you have available. Andouille sausage is spicy smoked pork sausage and it works so well with seafood. You can use chorizo or any other spicy sausage, including non-pork ones, as a replacement option in case you don’t Andouille sausages available.
Recipe for langostino and Andouille sausage empanadas inspired by the flavors of Louisiana. These spicy empanadas can also be made with crawfish or shrimp, and are served with an avocado cilantro dipping sauce.
Ingredients
- Homemade empanada dough for frying or baking or store bought empanada discs
- 2 tablespoons of butter or oil
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
- ~1 tablespoon of Tabasco Garlic Pepper sauce or regular Tabasco, adjust to taste
- 12 ounces of fully cooked Andouille sausages, diced (can use chorizo or any spicy sausage)
- 1 lb fully cooked crawfish or langostino (or shrimp), diced
- 1-2 green onions or scallions, diced
- 2 tablespoon of finely chopped cilantro
- Salt to taste
- Oil as needed
- 1 egg, whisked to be used as egg wash
- ~1tsp of Tabasco sauce – optional, for a spicy glaze
- Avocado cilantro dipping sauce
Instructions
- Heat the butter or oil in a medium sized pan, add the diced onions, bell peppers and celery. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the ingredients are soft.
- Add the paprika and ½ tablespoon of Garlic Tabasco, mix well.
- Add the diced Andouille sausage and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the crawfish or langostino meat, mix well and cook for 2 minutes. Taste and add the additional Garlic Tabasco (if needed) and salt to taste. Let the mix cool down. Stir in the green onions and cilantro. Save the filling until ready to use.
- Place a generous spoonful of the langostino or crawfish filling on the center of each empanada disc.
- Fold the empanada discs and gently seal the edges with your fingers. Twist and fold the edges of the empanadas with your fingers. For extra sealing you can use a fork to press down on the edges.
- Chill the empanadas for at least an hour, this will help them seal better and prevent them for leaking.
- You can fry the empanadas in a deep fryer or in a deep frying pan. If using a frying pan, make sure to add enough oil to cover at least half of the empanada. Let the oil get very hot and fry each empanada until they are golden on each side, about 1-2 minutes per side. Place the empanadas on paper towels to drain any excess grease.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F – 400F.
- Brush the empanadas with the egg wash right before baking to give them a nice golden glow.
- Bake the empanadas for 18-20 minutes or until golden on top.
- Serve the empanadas as is or with your choice of dipping sauce.
The spice or heat level of the filling can be adjusted to your preference and also based on the spiciness of the sausages, which can vary. I added Tabasco Garlic Pepper sauce to the filling, it’s slightly milder than regular Tabasco (which can also be used) and has hints of garlicky deliciousness. When cooking with hot sauce, I usually add some at the beginning for flavor (the heat level reduces as it cooks), and then add more at the end to get it to the heat level that I prefer. You can also add a spicy touch to the dough by either using a bit of Tabasco in the empanada dough (if making the dough from scratch), or add some to the egg wash for a spicy glaze.
These langostino or crawfish empanadas can be either fried or baked, I have a slight preference for frying them, especially since the seafood is cooked (and you don’t want to use raw seafood as a empanada filling), and frying is quicker so the langostino, shrimp or crawfish won’t get overcooked and rubbery. As usual, I served the empanadas with a dipping sauce, this time I made a spicy avocado and cilantro mayonnaise sauce. If you don’t have time to make a dipping sauce, you can also serve them with a couple of your favorite Tabasco hot sauces.
Additional recipes referenced:
Recipe for homemade empanada dough for baking
Recipe for homemade empanada dough for frying
Recipe for avocado and cilantro mayonnaise dipping empanada sauce
Step by step preparation photos for langostino and Andouille sausage empanadas
*Disclosure: Thanks to Tabasco for sponsoring this post. All photos, recipes, opinions, and ideas are 100% my own.
Kate Ramos (@holajalapeno) says
January 1, 2015 at 12:35 pmOh my, these sound incredible! I love the flavor combination and they are so pretty to boot!
cheftony2014 says
December 20, 2014 at 9:44 amWow!! This was an amazing recipe. The combination of tastes between the Andouille sausage and shrimp along with the rest of the ingredients was a pleasant surprise. I have always loved empanadas since my mother used to make them when I was growing up in Colombia. I love this new variation so kudos to Laylita for this tasty treat.