Collard Green Empanadas
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying
- 2 slices bacon, streaky, chopped
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 8 ounces collard greens, Swiss chard, or kale, finely chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 16 thawed frozen empanada discs
Directions
- Line a plate with paper towels and have near the stove. In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon (streaky) and cook until crisp, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Leaving the bacon fat in the pan, remove to the paper towels to drain. Once cool, crumble into small pieces and set aside.
- Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 20 seconds. Working in batches, add the collards, making sure to stir them quickly so the garlic doesn’t burn. Reduce the heat to low and cook the collards until wilted, about 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled collards, bacon, cream cheese, and cayenne and stir well to combine.
- On a work surface, separate the empanada discs (keep them covered with a towel so they don’t dry out). Place a heaping 4 tablespoons of the filling on one-half of each disc, leaving a ½-inch (13 mm) border. Fold the discs in half over the filling and press the edges firmly with the tines of a fork to seal.
- Fit two large baking sheets with wire racks. Pour 2 inches (5 cm) oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven (casserole dish) and heat to 350°F (177°C).
- Working in batches to avoid over-crowding, carefully slide the empanadas into the hot oil and fry them until golden, 3–4 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the empanadas to the prepared racks.
- Serve hot.
Notes
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Let us know how it was!About This Recipe
The collard green is one of the South’s most versatile vegetables and it perfectly fits in with global dishes involving rice, sautés, and stuffed foods, like these collard green empanadas. Adapted from a recipe shared by my friend and cookbook author Sandra A. Gutierrez, these empanadas reflect the constant innovations of Latin American Southerners, re-creating the foods of Mexico and Central America in the contemporary South.
About the Recipe Creator
Michael W. Twitty is a recognized culinary historian and independent scholar focusing on historic African American food and folk culture and culinary traditions of historic Africa and her Diaspora.
Extracted from RECIPES FROM THE AMERICAN SOUTH © 2025 by Michael W. Twitty. Photography © 2025 by Nico Schinco. Reproduced by permission of Phaidon. All rights reserved.
