Chicken Coleslaw Empanadillas Recipe

Once the bread-like dough of an empanadilla is ready, this can be combined with fillings of very different kinds for hearty, delicious meals. This non-traditional savory chicken coleslaw filling is one of our favorite combinations - it can even be turned into a meal of its own (combined with some potatoes) but it's at its best in an empanadilla.

You can check here the directions on how to prepare the empanadilla dough.

Ingredients for the chicken coleslaw filling (6 servings)

• 2 skinless, deboned chicken breasts
• 2.5 cups of coleslaw mix (green cabbage, red cabbage and carrot)
• 1 small yellow or white onion
• 1 small red pepper and 1 small orange pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp of black pepper
• 1 tsp of cumin
• 2 tsp of oregano
• 3 tsp of saffron
• (optional) 1/2 tsp of red cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves (can be substituted by Italian parsley; fresh is preferred by dry would suffice)
• 2 tsp of salt (Kosher salt works great)
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400 F. In the meantime, cut the chicken in small pieces. Slice the onion and the peppers. Mince the garlic.

Put a medium-sized skillet on high heat. Once it has warmed up, put the olive oil in it, and distribute evenly. When the oil is hot and runny and the skillet is coated in it, add the chicken. Cook for a couple of minutes, till it starts losing its translucent pink tone and starts turning opaque white. Then add the garlic and continue cooking for five more minutes till the chicken starts turning golden. In that moment, add the onion. Stir and continue cooking till the onion starts to soften up.

Time to add the pepper till it starts softening and roasting.

Then it's time to add the coleslaw and the spices - a decent amount of saffron, some oregano, a pinch of cumin, and a crack of black pepper. 

If you prefer stronger, spicier flavors (which will lose strength and pair pretty well with the plainer bread-like empanadilla dough) also add a bit of red cayenne pepper - but red chilis or a small jalapeno pepper would suffice as well. 

Continue stirring till the coleslaw softens up. In the last minute, add the cilantro (or Italian parsley) as you want those (ideally, fresh) leaves to be combined and soften up without burning.

The filling is now ready to put into the dough. Place an oven-proof cooking paper sit on a metal tray, and lay the empanadilla dough in it, prepared in open-hand-sized rectangular or round dough slices; place an amount of filling in the top half of the stretched dough (leaving some room around the edges). Remember that the sweet spot is an empanadilla that is easy to close, but still has enough filling in it to keep every bite juicy and delicious.

Fold the empanadilla, and press the edges with the tines of a fork, trying to seal the filling in. Don't worry if it looks thin and soft, as the empanadilla will gain consistency as it cooks in the oven.

(Also, if you're making extras, considering freezing the filled empanadillas at this step - they can last weeks in the freezer and they can be taken out without defrosting to be cooked straight into the oven, albeit with a slightly longer cooking time.)

Cook the empanadillas in the oven for 20 minutes, then flip on the other side, and continue cooking for an extra 20 minutes. When the exterior is golden, and the texture is bread-like, they should be ready to serve.