Empanada's & Gazpacho

Mother’s Day has come and gone, but hopefully, your meal was as delightful as ours! This year, we had my Mother, Father, and Aunt at our place in Bay Ridge for lunch, and it was such a success, I though I’d share.
In the past Mother’s Day meals were usually Quiche’s and Pavlova’s (a dessert of meringues, with whipped cream and fruit — always a hit), but this year I wanted to do something different. So I ventured South… to Mexico.
The menu was simple, Gazpacho with Shrimp Ceviche, Chicken and Olive Empanadas, and Mango-Jicama Salad with Toasted Cashews. For dessert, my husband made his Mother’s Flan - perhaps the biggest hit of the meal! Now I can’t give away his recipe (that’s for him to blog) but I can tell you the rest.

Gazpacho:
The perfect Spring/Summer Soup. With barely any calories, and tons of flavor, it a great option for any meal.

5-6 Vine Ripened Tomatoes
1 Large Cucumber
1/2 Sweet Onion
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 Cup Watercress
3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tbs Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 Tsp Cayenne
1-1 1/2 Cups Ice Water
Salt & Pepper to taste

Peel and seed the cucumber.
Cut the tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions into chunks. Pulse the tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic, onion, and watercress to desired consistency (personally, I like my gazpacho on the chunkier side, but feel free to make it smooth). If you need to do this in batches because like me you don’t have a food processor large enough, and really who has the space for a food processor that large enough in NYC… then go ahead, no shame in that game.
Once it’s all processed and transferred to a large bowl, add the oil, vinegar, cayenne, salt and pepper. Adjust the seasoning if you need to, then add the water. After you’ve added the water and whisked everything together, you might want to add some more salt, or cayenne.
Chill in the fridge until your ready to serve.

For the Shrimp:
Squeeze enough lime juice to just cover the amount of shrimp you’re using. For 10 shrimp this will probably be about a 1 1/2. Add 1 Tbs of salt, and Tbs of olive oil and let it sit in the fridge until its “cooked” (no longer raw and nice and pink). You might have to toss them a few times to make sure all sides are evenly done. This should take about 20 minutes.

For serving:
Zest some of the limes you used for the Shrimp. Fill a bowl with the Gazpacho, rest some shrimp on top, and sprinkle with the lime zest. You’ll get ooh’s and aah’s.

Empanadas:
Here’s the great thing about Empanadas, they are wholly versatile. You can stuff them with anything, even leftovers. Shrimp, roast chicken, last nights steak, roasted veggies etc…

You’ll need to find (or make for you brave souls) empanada wrappers. If you can’t find them at your grocery store, then I guarantee you they can be bought at the local Bodega. They are round flat frozen refrigerated discs that have a distinctive orange color. Make sure to defrost them, but also make sure that they are kept cool, otherwise they sort of melt become too gooey to work with.

2 lbs Ground Chicken
1/2 Yellow Onion, chopped fine
1 Cup Green Olives with Pimento, sliced
10 Small Packages of Sazon Seasoning (another Bodega purchase if you can’t find it in the Supermarket. This is seasoning mix of salt and various things like onion powder etc. For this recipe make sure you get it without Anchovy. They come in little packages about the size of a sugar packet. If you find it in the shaker bottle, then use 5 Tbs.)
3 Tbs Sofrito (a tomato based sauce, again it can be made from scratch if you like)
3 Tbs Olive Oil

Start the onions in the oil and let them cook on medium high until just translucent. Add the meat and cook until no longer pink. Drain the excess oil out of the pan and add the olives, cooking until they are warm. Add the Sazon and the Sofrito and add more of either if the meat needs it. Let the mixture cool slightly while you heat 2 cups of veggie oil in a big deep pot or pan.
Take one of the Empanada skins and add about a Tbs of filling (too much and it won’t seal well). Fold over the wrapper to make a half moon, and with a fork, seal the edges. Unless the skins are old and slightly hard, you won’t need water to seal. Add the Empanada to the oil, and fry until the color changes and the Empanada is firm about 3-4 minutes per, remember to turn them in the oil so all sides get cooked. Drain on some paper towel, put on platter and serve immediately.

Salad:
Jicama is a root and has a very distinctive crunchy and fresh flavor. It looks not unlike a large discus shaped potato. It needs to be shaved with a peeler, and it is eaten raw.

1 Ripe mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1/2 Jicama, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 cup chopped Cashews, toasted
3 Romaine Hearts
Juice of 2 limes,
1 Cup Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper

Cut the lettuce, add the jicama and mango and sprinkle with the cashews. Whisk together the lime juice and the oil, add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the dressing over the salad, but don’t mix it yet! Make sure you’re guests see how lovely it looks with all its colorful goodness.