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Empada

A baked pastry with a chicken, olive, and palm heart filling.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Olive and tomato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,539 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Empada

Oven375 °F
Timeabout 25 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dough

  1. Save the egg white of one egg.

  2. Combine the yolk and remaining whole eggs with flour, margarine, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

  3. Mix all ingredients for about 10 minutes or until it becomes dough, holding the bowl with your hand.

  4. Add the spoonfuls of cold water to the mixture to reach dough consistency.

  5. Pat dough into a ball and let it rest while you prepare the filling.

Make the filling

  1. Combine chicken breast, chopped onion, oil, salt, and 1 cup of water in a pressure cooker.

  2. Place the pressure cooker on medium heat and cook until the regulator starts to blow steam, about 10 minutes, or cook for about 30 minutes in a saucepan.

  3. Remove cooked chicken and save the broth.

  4. Chop chicken breast and place it in a saucepan.

  5. Add green olives, heart of palms, tomato paste, and stir in 2 tablespoons of flour.

  6. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the filling while adding broth slowly to achieve a paste-like consistency.

Assemble and bake

  1. Take small amounts of dough and press them against the mold to line it, extending a bit over the edge.

  2. Fill the mold with chicken.

  3. Make a small lid with the dough and cover the mold.

  4. Press the lid borders against the mold to seal the crust with the cover, then cut off the excess.

  5. Brush the top of the pies with egg yolk.

  6. Preheat oven to 375 °F.

  7. Bake for about 25 minutes until the top becomes golden brown.

  8. Let it cool and release from the molds.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

989Calories
53 gProtein
36 gFat
111 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 11 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Olive1 large (4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Heart Of Palmnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Flour + heart of palmtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1 recipe

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Onion + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,633 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  4. Chicken + tomatotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,031 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  5. Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together29,779 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Forms the gluten network that gives the dough its structure and sturdy shell.
Margarine
Adds fat that makes the dough tender and short.
Eggs
Bind the dough and add richness and color.
Chicken breast
Provides the main filling, cooked until tender and moist.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated flavor and color to the filling.
Heart of palms
Adds a mild, tender texture to the filling.

The step that matters

Cooking the filling to a paste-like consistency. Adding broth slowly lets the flour thicken the filling evenly. If it is too wet, it will soak the dough and make the base soggy during baking.

Swap the heart of palm

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, chicken, olive, onion, tomato):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Potatofits better
  3. Chivefits better
  4. Heart of palmthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, chicken, olive, onion, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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