Chef Eva Barrios Lamb Empanadas with Harissa Yogurt, Tamarind Sauce, Pickled Vegetables

Method

Procedure for Australian Lamb Empanadas Filling:

1. On a medium sauté pan, add the extra virgin olive oil. Place saute pan on the stove and turn heat to medium.
2. Add the ground lamb, and cook gently. Before it fully cook, add the onion and garlic. Sauté for an additional minute and a half.
3. Add the cayenne pepper, cinnamon, coriander, and paprika. Combine well. Taste ground lamb mixture, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Turn off heat. Add fresh cilantro, and fold until evenly combined into the lamb mixture.
5. Pull away from the stove and place on a preparation table. Make sure to put over a towel or heat proof liner to prevent ruining your kitchen surface.
6. Pull puff pastry from the refrigerator. Most puff pastries can be purchased as sheets. Place sheet on a cutting board.
7. Get a cookie cutter ring roughly with a 3.5 to 4 inch diameter. Press on puff pastry to make puff pastry circles. Pull circles gently from the whole sheet and set aside on a cooking sheet or flat surface dish. Repeat five more times the process, until you get 6 circles.
8. Grab a tablespoon (measuring spoon) if you do not have measuring spoons, a small spoon will work as well.
9. With a small pastry brush, brush lightly egg wash over each of the pastry puff circles.
10. With a tablespoon or small dessert spoon, fill with lamb filling and place in the middle of each puff pastry circle. You will need about 1.5 tablespoon per circle.
11. With your hands, gently, fold round over the filling for each circle of dough. Pinch the edges with your fingers. Grab the fork and crimp the edges.
12. Spray food coating spray over a heat proof cooking sheet and place the empanadas one inch apart. Brush the empanadas with egg wash.
    Bake empanadas in a 375F degree pre heated oven for 5 to 6 minutes until golden brown.
13. Pull empanadas from the oven and place the sheet of empanadas in a heat proof surface.
14. Plate as desired: For this recipe, I paired the empanadas with a harissa yogurt, tamarind sauce, and pickled vegetables.

Procedure for Tamarind Sauce:

1. Add all the ingredients into the sauce pan.
2. Place pan on the stove and turn to medium heat.
3. Mix all the ingredients with the spatula and bring the sauce to a hard simmer.
4. Simmer sauce for a couple minutes or until it starts thickening.
5. Turn off heat.
6. Transfer sauce to a small bowl or container.
7. Let it sit at room temperature.

Procedure for Harissa Yogurt Sauce:

1. Add all the ingredients together into the mixing bowl, and combine well.
2. Adjust seasoning with salt, and black pepper.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl/dish.

Procedure for Pickled Vegetables:

For the vegetables:

1. Need Cutting board for this.
2. Radishes: wash radish and pat dry. Thin slice radish with mandolin or with a chef’s knife. Transfer to a small bowl.
3. Asparagus: cut on a thin bias starting from the tip of the asparagus. Do not use the last inch and a half of the end of the asparagus. Transfer to a small bowl.
4. Red onions: cut an onion into quarters. Wrap and refrigerate 3 of the quarters and keep one on cutting board. Thin slice onions into a julienne cut or thin strips. Transfer to a small bowl.

For the Pickling Mixture:

1. In a quart sauce pan, add all the pickling liquid ingredients. Place on the stove and turn the heat to high. Bring liquid to a boil for a minute to two minutes.
2. Turn off heat.
3. Pour hot liquid into each vegetable bowl until it covered the vegetables.
4. Refrigerate.