Corn, Onion and Mozzarella Cheese Empanadas

Ingredients

Corn empanada filling

• 2 pieces of corn on the cob
• 100g onion, finely diced
• 5g butter
• 5ml vegetable oil
• 2g salt
• 2g pepper
• 200g scamorza bianca (any mozzarella style cheese will work), chopped into 1 cm pieces.

Empanada pastry

• 500g plain flour
• 3g baking powder
• 10g salt
• 225g water
• 46g copha
• beaten egg, for assembly

Method

Remove corn from cobs and process in a blender or food processor until you have a rough paste.

In a heavy-based pot, heat oil and butter. Add onion and cook on low heat until very soft.

Add blended corn and cookout until starting to thicken.

Add cheese, stir continuously until cheese is melted and very stringy.

Remove from heat and cool down in the fridge.

Empanada Pastry

Bring water and copha to boil and remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.

Mix dry ingredients in mixer bowl. While mixing on low, slowly add liquid. Mix until a rough dough forms.

Wrap in plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Assembling Empanadas

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Remove dough from the fridge and form about 14 small balls. Flatten them to form rounds of about 14cm diameter.

Spoon two tbsp of the filling into the middle of each pastry round and brush the edges with a little beaten egg. Fold edges over and press with a fork to seal each empanada, then place onto a lightly greased baking tray.

Brush the empanadas with beaten egg and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden.

About Stephen Clark

Head chef, San Telmo

Following a two-year stint as Sous Chef at San Telmo, Stephen's creativity, attention to detail and passion for Argentinian cuisine earned him the Head Chef position in 2018. Before coming to Melbourne, he worked under Zeb Gilbert of Wsabi in Noosa Queensland and then with Sam Steck of Heart Attack and Vine in Carlton.

Extensive travels throughout South America further inspired him to share its authentic flavours and cooking techniques, echoing the Argentine ethos that life and love should always be shared over good food and wine.

Stephen was nominated for the Time Out's New Hot Talent award in 2016 and has won the Golden Empanada competition at World Malbec Day two years in a row. He also played an integral role in San Telmo winning the Best Steak Restaurant at the 2015 Restaurant and Catering Awards.