I have been craving empanadas since I spotted one while exploring the food-related hashtags on Instagram. I never considered being able to eat them since going on a low-carb diet but now with all the fathead dough recipes I've been making, I realised I could use the very same dough to make these! You can fill them with anything--chicken, beef, pork, vegetables, or just tomato, basil and cheese!
The original recipe of the keto version I came across resulted in a strange and all-too-wet dough, even though I followed the recipe to a T. So I went back to my trusty fathead dough recipe which I used for the Pita Chips, et voila! C'est parfait! The only difference is that I didn't mix the same herbs and spices into the dough because I wanted the filling to be the star of the empanada. I encourage you to do the same and choose the kind of fathead dough recipe you like based on the texture and consistency that you prefer. The Pita Chips fathead dough I made is easier to handle as it's not as sticky or wet. It also crisped up very well in the pan.
INGREDIENTS
For the dough
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 tbs cream cheese
1/4 c coconut flour + 1/4 cup super fine almond flour (or if you don't like coconut flour, just stick to almond flour)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
*Make an egg wash of 1 egg + 1 tbs of water to smear on your empanadas so they brown nicely
For the filling
1 lb ground pork
24 pieces pepperoni, roughly chopped (I prefer to use uncured pepperoni as it's the healthier kind)
1/3 cup Pork King Good Pork Rind Crumbs
cumin
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder
cayenne
smoked paprika
1/3 cup shredded cheese (I like using the Mexican blend)
DIRECTIONS:
Melt the mozzarella and cream cheese together in a microwave-safe bowl. This will only take about 2 minutes max to get it to melt enough so you can mix it. Add all the dry ingredients together first before adding it to the melted cheeses, along with the beaten egg. Mix well until you form a dough and can shape it into a ball. Portion them out according to the number of empanadas you want. Depending on the size you choose, you can make either 4 big ones or 6 smaller ones. Roll them into individual balls and them flatten them out into wrappers for your pork.
In a separate mixing bowl, mix your pork, pot rind crumbs, chopped pepperoni and seasonings together and then cook it on a hot pan. The shredded cheese is for later when you start filling your empanadas. Set your cooked pork aside and clean up your pan so you can fry your empanadas in them.
Take the dough wrappers you've prepared and start filling them--first with the shredded cheese, and then the pork. Seal them well by using your fingers to pinch along the ends to give it that distinct empanada appearance. Brush them with egg wash before gently plopping them into the pan to fry.
I prefer to use Coconut Oil because it's high in saturated fats (which is what we want for ketosis) and can handle hours of continuous cooking or deep frying without any changes in its quality. I also like the way it browns and crisps up breaded food. It hasn't let me down yet, so I'm going to stick with it.
Each side should take about 2 minutes to brown up. Make sure you give all sides equal time bubbling in the oil so you get a beautiful even colour all over.
Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Best enjoyed with hot sauce! (One of my favourite dips is home style ranch mixed with Cholula hot sauce)
Only 1.3g net Carbs for each big empanada.