smoked paprika pork & spinach empanadas

empanadas are one of my all-time faves.

i guess i’ve been a tad spoiled with all the delicious homemade empanadas over the years – thanks to incredible homecooking by my mom and my aunties! though i didn’t tackle the dough made from scratch or the traditional chicken & potato filling this time around, i was inspired to try making empanadas in my kitchen over the weekend… with my own twist on the dish, of course. :)

and if you’re looking for an inventive way to repurpose fresh pizza dough from the bakery, read on…

prep the filling:
fold together the following ingredients in a large prep bowl until well combined:
- 350g lean ground pork
- 1.5 cups red bell pepper (pitted, diced)
- 1/2 fresh italian parsley (finely chopped)
- dash of sea salt
- season w/ ground black peppercorns
- sprinkle 1 tsp smoked paprika evenly over meat

cook the filling:
- heat up a large saucepan on high heat
- add 1 clove garlic (peeled, diced) and 1/4 cup water to pan
- pour the pork & veggie mixture into the pan
- stirfry for a few min until the meat is no longer pink
- fold in 2 cups fresh organic spinach (chopped) with pork mixture

- preheat oven to 400F

prep the dough:
- sprinkle some whole-wheat flour on a clean, flat surface before rolling out the fresh pizza dough (i bought some fresh from the bakery.)
- using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough into a thin, round pie
- sprinkle some more flour on the dough pie, flip over before applying the rolling pin again
- use a round cookie cutter to cut-out circular pieces of dough for each empanada

halo halo

halo halo = mix mix. this popular filipino frozen dessert is the perfect icy treat for an impromptu kitchen party. and that’s exactly what we did recently on a hot summer weekend with the family. i scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream? after this, you’ll all scream for halo halo. :)

my parents have this handy ice shaver that’s great for making halo halo, margaritas & other frozen cocktails. you can typically find one in an asian food market.

the goodies:
- plenty of shaved ice
- chickpeas (garbanzo)
- jackfruit (langka)
- coconut gel
- purple yam (ube)
- sweet beans
- 1 can evaporated milk

(tip: mix it up. there are many different combos of flavours that you can experiment with for halo halo. leche flan, plantains, tapioca, ice cream… be creative.)

mix it up:
- similar to a parfait, halo halo is all about the colourful layers. add a little bit of each sweet fruit ingredient to the bottom of each tall glass.
- add shaved ice, and then top with purple yam and some of your fave toppings
(tip: this is a great dessert for a dinner party or family bbq. let your guests make their own halo halo, so they can choose which ingredients they want to include in their glass.)

wonton dumplings (siomai)

do you have one of those fave, homecooked dishes that you’ve loved ever since childhood? well, this is that dish for me. siomai, or wonton dumplings, is one of my fave things to eat — and my mom’s recipe is the best, in my opinion. :)

this weekend in honour of heritage day (an awesome civic holiday celebrating multiculturalism), i visited my parents’ home and we enjoyed a filipino feast on the patio. my special request was siomai. not only is it a great appetizer for sharing, but it’s also fun cooking together with mom & dad. what a fantastic way to enjoy sunday dinner…

typically made with pork, wonton dumplings are a staple on chinese dimsum menus. there are many different variations on this popular dumpling recipe from several countries throughout asia (check out more details on wikipedia). here’s my mom’s version of the filipino recipe for siomai…

prep wonton stuffing:
combine the following ingredients well in large prep bowl:
- 500g ground lean pork
- 2-3 green onion stalks (rooted stems removed, diced)
- 2-3 chinese sausages (finely chopped)
- 2 medium eggs
- season w/ salt & ground black peppercorns to taste

(tip: you can substitute chinese sausage for ham or shrimp. for extra texture & flavour, you can also add green peas, carrots, dried mushrooms or water chestnuts to the wonton stuffing.)