Memorial Day

Garlic Shrimp Empanadas (Empanadillas de Camarones al Ajillo)

by:
May 17, 2024
5
3 Ratings
Garlic Shrimp Empanadas (Empanadillas de Camarones al Ajillo)
Photo by César Pérez
  • Prep time 1 hour
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • makes 12 to 16 empanadas
Author Notes

Empanadas, empanadillas, pastelillos, pastelitos, pastelillitos… So many names! So many opinions! Like any dish shared throughout Latin America, everyone claims to have the best version. I’ll keep my biases to myself (Puerto Rico and Colombia for the win). For our purposes, especially here in the United States, I’ll just be referring to them as empanadas.

This simple flour dough comes together very easily, with no equipment and minimal effort. Camarones al ajillo, or shrimp cooked in garlic and wine, is my favorite filling, with beef picadillo coming in as a close second. While a deep-fried empanada is hard to beat, these would also bake up beautifully. Either way, these empanadas make the perfect party finger food, picnic snack, or just enjoy them right over the kitchen counter as they come fresh out of the fryer.

—César Pérez

What You'll Need
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Garlic Shrimp Empanadas (Empanadillas de Camarones al Ajillo)
Ingredients
  • FOR THE DOUGH:
  • 2 1/2 cups (300 grams) all purpose flour, sifted
  • 2/3 cup hot water, just off the boil
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • FOR THE SHRIMP FILLING:
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, cut into thirds
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped, or ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 leaf culantro, chopped, optional
  • 2 to 3 cups neutral oil, for frying
Directions
  1. Make the empanada dough. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and sugar until combined. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture and add the hot water and olive oil. Stir with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Knead by hand in the bowl until the dough comes together into a smooth ball and is no longer sticky, about 3-5 minutes. Wrap the dough ball tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour.
  2. Prepare the shrimp filling. Peel and devein shrimp if they aren’t already. With a knife or kitchen shears, cut each shrimp into fourths. Season with salt, pepper, and coriander.
  3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt butter with olive oil. Add garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, and oregano and cook for 30 seconds ensuring your garlic doesn’t burn.
  4. Add shrimp and stir constantly. Once shrimp begin to turn pink and opaque, add white wine, lemon zest and juice. Remove from heat and stir in chopped cilantro and culantro. Set aside.
  5. Assemble empanadas. Generously dust your surface and rolling pin with flour. Remove dough from plastic wrap and roll out into a large circle, roughly 16 inches in diameter. Stamp out 6 inch disks using a biscuit cutter or a cup. You can also make the disks larger or smaller based on your preference. Re-knead dough scraps into another ball and roll out again. Repeat until no dough is left.
  6. With a slotted spoon, scoop roughly half a teaspoon of shrimp filling into each disk of dough. Be sure to not overfill. Dip your finger in water and run it along one half of the dough’s edge to ensure a secure seal. Fold in half and press firmly following by crimping with a fork or by pinching it in on itself like a dumpling.
  7. Fry empanadas. In a high walled pot such as a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet, preheat oil to 350 degrees. Gently drop in empanadas and fry until golden, about 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. Alternatively, bake in a 350 degree oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 minutes or until golden, Drain on a cooling rack or paper towel lined plate. Enjoy hot or at room temperature.
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César Pérez

Recipe by: César Pérez

Recipe Developer & Food52 Test Kitchen Content Creator

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2 Reviews

Smaug
Smaug May 20, 2024
I was very happy to see this recipe; empanada recipes seem mostly to use what's basically pie dough, which I find pretty inappropriate, really. I make various savory turnovers from time to time, and usually use some sort of yeast dough, usually with a little lamination; I'll have to try this- I no longer eat seafood, but I'm sure I can come up with a filling.
 
Smaug
Smaug May 22, 2024
It wasn't until I wass rolling out the dough that I realized that I was basically making a flour tortilla- if you try it, don't be surprised that your circles come out very thin. This is not a bad approach; turnovers in general tend toward a high crust to filling ratio. I ended up refrigerating the dough for a couple of days, which far as I can see didn't hurt anything. However, I would suppose that the use of hot water was to draw out starch, which tends to act strangely under refrigeration; it's conceivable that the final texture was affected- at any rate it was fine, though if I do it again I might brush it with some olive oil; I suspect frying would give a better result than baking. Ovens are pretty individual, and the countertop convection oven I used more than most, but you may find the baking temperature given a bit low. I used a linguica/ potato filling, which for what it's worth was pretty good, the resulting turnovers were nice and crispy.
I think this dough would work pretty well with smaller, samosa style turnovers too (cut your dough circle in half, make into a cone with the middle of the straight side for the vortex, fill and seal top)