Christmas Leftovers

CEBU, Philippines —  The one dinner that took days, if not weeks, of preparation is now past. For sure, there’s a lot of leftover foods lying around in the fridge after the Christmas dinner. Whatever happens to such excess good food depends on the creativity of the house cook.

It’s a challenge for most house cooks, the mothers usually, to put Christmas leftover foods to good use. It’s not only such a waste but such a shame as well to send beef, pork, chicken, and seafood dishes to the garbage bin just because everyone has had enough it, for now. True, too much of the same stuff for a consecutive number of meals could really bore the taste buds – but something can be done about it.

First of all, leftover foods shall be stored properly to avoid spoilage before something can be done about these. The fridge, for one, can help a lot for keeping leftover foods in good condition while awaiting the cook’s verdict. And there’s indeed a lot of delicious possibilities to consider.

In our home, it’s almost always everyone’s guess that there would be “empanada” after a banquet, either at Christmas, New Year’s, on someone’s birthday, anniversary and any other celebration that entails a feast. It’s a practice that my generation has inherited from our elders. The grandkids now enjoy it a lot, and are likely to carry it forward when their time comes.

“Empanada” is a very easy and practical dish to make from leftover foods. Even the sauces of the various dishes can be included in the filling, if the tastes complement each other; if not, the slices or chunks of meats and poultry may be picked out and flavored anew. The kids particularly like to have a noticeable sweetness in the “empanada.”

Following is a simple “empanada” recipe for the Christmas leftover foods:

Empanada

Ingredients:

Empanada Filling

2 tbsp olive oil

½ kg leftover meats and poultry, shredded or chopped to bits

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp vinegar

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano, powdered

2 tsp salt

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 pc green bell pepper, chopped

1 pc red bell pepper, chopped

1 pc medium-size onion, chopped

Cooking oil for frying

Empanada Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface

1 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp sugar

Pinch of salt

½ cup lard or shortening

1 pc egg

¾ cup chicken stock

Dip (optional)

1 cup real mayonnaise

1 tbsp adobo sauce

1 pc kalamansi, juiced

Procedure:

•For the empanada dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

• In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then whisk in the stock. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and knead until a dough forms. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• Meanwhile, for the empanada filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the leftover meats and poultry, and simmer for 1 minute. Drain the grease and set aside.

• In the same pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic, bell peppers and onions. Cook until softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the leftover meats and poultry and cook over fire at low heat for about 5 more minutes. The mixture should be moist but not dripping wet. Now the filling is ready for the empanadas.

• Lightly spread flour over a work surface and roll out the dough to ¼-inch thick. Cut out 4-, 5- or 6-inch rounds, depending on how large you prefer. Add some meat filling to each empanada and fold the dough over in half to enclose the filling. Use a fork to press and seal the edges closed. You can refrigerate the uncooked empanadas for up to 3 hours.

• Heat the oil in a deep pan to boiling hot. Fry the empanadas, several pieces at a time, until golden brown, 6 to 7 minutes.

• For the dip: Mix together the mayonnaise, adobo sauce and kalamansi juice. (The flavor will enhance if it sits in the refrigerator.)