Kohlrabi Empanadas

This week for our CSA order we decided to try something new: Kohlrabi.
As luck would have it, my favorite website, SimplyRecipes.com, had a whole variety of kohlrabi recipes. I was too lazy to go to the store to get any extra ingredients, so I worked with what I had at home.

Ingredients:
Dough:
You can use pre-made pie crust or pre-made frozen empanada discs (I think Goya has them). I modified a recipe by SmittenKitchen.

2 cup all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Egg Wash:
Beat together 1 egg and 1 tsp water

Filling:
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 large clove of garlic (or 2 medium-sized)
1/2 tsp fresh or powdered ginger
1 kohlrabi
3 carrots
3 spring onions
1/4 cup onion
1 radish (or 2 small radishes)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper

OR

Filling #2:
Today (9/22/10), I once again became the owner of kohlrabi through the wonderful "seconds" pile at the farm I volunteer at once a week, this time a beautiful purple kohlrabi.

Having not eaten empanadas in a while and being determined make even tastier empanadas, I decided to make kohlrabi empanadas again.

This time for the filling I used a bunch of vegetables I picked up at the farm:
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 large clove of garlic (this was a super potent garlic)
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 kohlrabi
1 watermelon turnip
4 baby turnip
3 baby radishes
1/2 tsp Adobo
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt & fresh ground pepper
(I also added 1/2 leftover sausage chopped into small pieces)

Directions:
Start with the dough
In a food processor blend flour and salt
Add butter and pulse until butter is pea-sized
Whisk together egg, water and vinegar
Stir into dough mixture
Roll together in a ball
Place in some Saran wrap and shape into a disk
Cool for an hour

Peel and chop kohlrabi and other vegetables into 1" or smaller cubes
Mince garlic (and ginger)
Heat butter and olive oil over medium heat
Add minced garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes (garlic should be fragrant but not too quite brown)
Add kohlrabi and other hard vegetables
Season with salt & pepper and cook for 5 minutes
Add remaining vegetables
Season with Adobo, nutmeg and more salt & pepper to taste
Remove from heat and let cool

Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Roll dough into a thin sheet on a floured surface (make sure it's well floured or dough will stick)
**You may want to do this in smaller batches and keep the remaining dough cold as this makes the dough easier to handle
Cut out circles using a plate, cookie cutter or other circular object
Spoon 1-2 tbsp, depending on the size of your disc, onto the disc slightly off center
Moisten the outside edge of the dough with your finger
Fold the dough over the filling, press down the edges
There are various ways to seal the empanada, I prefer to have the top edge be slightly smaller than the bottom edge, so I can fold the bottom edge over the top and then press it together with a fork
Another option is to pinch the edges and seal them tightly

Prick the top with a fork and brush with the egg wash
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown
Turn over and bake for another 5 minutes
Makes about 8 large or 12-15 small empanadas

Serve with a dipping sauce like salsa, salsa verder, cilantro sauce (try Amy's Sauce or Luci's sauce.