Leadership Bites with William M : Homemade Empanadas + His family recipe

In continuing our celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, this week, 5 GumGummers had the opportunity to learn how to make empanadas, led by the Head of Verity and empanada-making extraordinaire William Merchan! During the virtual Leadership Bites, attendees were not only able to learn how to make empanadas but also had the opportunity to learn more about William’s Columbian heritage and family traditions.

"We always have large piles of these at our family events and usually the around the counter snack food before any meal at Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween or anything in between. This recipe was a riff off a recipe that my dad's family from Colombia had for empanada replacing a few ingredients like lard or other items that are tough to find here or no longer popular due to very good health reasons :). My dad's family is from Colombia but this dough is probably a little closer to what you might get from an Argentinian empanada. The typical version on the streets in Colombia uses a yellow corn-based Masa and is deep-fried (Also delicious but not as fun to make). This version is baked and possibly slightly healthier even though we go heavy on the butter and cream cheese.”

- Willam Merchan

Check out the recipe and pics of their delicious-looking empanadas below!

William Merchan’s Family Empanada Recipe

Ingredients

For the Dough:
- 1 Pound Butter (4 Sticks)
- 4 Cream Cheese Sticks (8 Oz each)
- 4 Cups Flour

For the Filling:
- ~2 lbs of Chicken (Ideally 2 large breasts on the bone, shortcut would be to get a whole rotisserie chicken)
- 6 green bell peppers
- ~4 tsp Aji Amarillo or if you can't get that 4 hot peppers (serrano, jalapeno or habanero depending on your preferred spice level)
- 6 small onions
- 2 Celery stalks
- 2 Tsp Chili Powder
- 2 Tsp Tomato Paste
- 1 can Parmesan cheese (Yes that strange can on the shelf)
- 1 Tsp salt

For the Aji (Sauce to put on top):
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 4 Jalapeños
- 2 Red bell peppers
- 8 Scallions
- 2 Tsp salt
- 1/2 Tbsp black pepper
- 6 Tbsp white vinegar
- 1 or 2 limes
- 1 Tsp red pepper flakes

Instructions

1) gently boil chicken in seasoned water. Shred chicken.
2) finely dice all veggies.
3) sauté veggie and add seasoning. Cool until soft.
4) add chicken and mix. Let filling cool
5) bring butter and cream cheese to room temperature. Mix well in a food processor. Slowly add flour until all ingredients are mixed.
6) put in the fridge for 15-30 minutes
7) ice cream scoop size balls of pastry add 2-3 tablespoons of filling and fold
8) bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until golden brown

What GumGummers are saying about the experience:

“ Getting to learn about William’s background and heritage was such a treat — and that’s still before we got to taste these incredible empanadas. It was so special to share in this family tradition, you could tell that a lot of love has gone into this recipe and I can’t wait to try it again!”

- Meghan Slaven, Senior People & Culture Business Partner