Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas {Empanadas de acelga, remolacha y queso de cabra}

These Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas, or empanadas de acelga, remolacha y queso de cabra,  are the result of over shopping at the Farmers’ Market, and a successful kitchen experiment.

I was thinking that Swiss chard and goat cheese would go well together in a pasta dish or maybe a pizza. It just happened that I forgot that I also bought a bunch of beets at the same stand where I got the Swiss chard. When I unpacked the ingredients, I thought about what to make with the beets, and decided to add them to whatever I ended up cooking, which turned out be these vegetarian empanadas.

I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical about these when I was making them. I thought the stuffing tasted good but still wasn’t sure how they were going to turn out. I tasted them when they were done baking and liked them, but wondered if anyone else would (I usually like to eat everything I taste).So I took one to Nicolas and he loved it.

Then I remembered that I had some leftover minty crème fraiche sauce that I made earlier. I tasted a piece of these Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas with the creamy herb sauce and it was just perfect. These empanadas were really easy to make, especially since I cheated and used the store bough empanada discs. Next time I will try them with homemade empanada dough. If you buy beets that have the greens included, you could also use the beet greens in place of the Swiss chard – to be extra efficient with your use of ingredients.

Swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas

Easy recipe for vegetarian empanadas or hand pies filled with chard, beets, goat cheese and oregano.

4.91 from 30 votes

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Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Fusion, Latin American

Keyword: Beet, Empanadas, Goat cheese, Swiss chard

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Refrigeration resting time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings: 12 -15 medium size or 20-25 small empanadas

Ingredients

• 12-15 medium size or 20-25 small empanada discs use homemade empanada dough for baking or store bought)
• 4 small beets cooked, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch of Swiss chard chopped
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
• ½ white onion sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano can also use dried oregano
• 1 egg yolk and white separated and lightly whisked
• Salt to taste

Serve with:

• Spicy mint crème fraiche sauce

Instructions

• Heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
• Add the chopped Swiss chard and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from the heat, cool down and mix with the diced beets, crumbled goat cheese and chopped oregano.
• To assemble the empanadas spoon the stuffing on to the center of each empanada disc.
• Brush the inside edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, this is will help them seal better and keep the filling from leaking while baking.
• Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.
• Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give a nice golden glow when they bake.
• Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes, this will help them seal better and prevent leaks.
• Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
• Serve warm with the mint crème fraiche sauce.

Step by step preparation photos for swiss chard, beet and goat cheese empanadas