Galician pork and mushroom pie

How to prepare a pork and mushroom pie . Sounds good doesn’t it? Well I assure you, it tastes better. If you want to turn your kitchen into a slice of Galicia, there is nothing better than a slice of empanada and a glass of wine.

That a crispy piece of a Galician pie comes out of the oven is priceless. This seasonal meat and mushroom recipe is one of those that call themselves winners since it’s from my grandmother. I have good Galician friends who are in Madrid and who are also passionate about Galician food, a piece of this freshly made empanada suddenly takes your nose away

“It is said that back in the 12th century, the ancient pilgrims knew that they were arriving in Santiago de Compostela when, fainting and hungry, from the nearby mountains they already felt the delicious smell of empanadas. Thus, the empanada became a tasty Guide to the Camino. An appetizing incentive to return to pilgrimage. So much fame came to have that even Mestre Mateo captured it in the Pórtico de la Gloria, in the famous Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. ”

As I mentioned in other empanada recipes  when you have an enormous desire to eat it and you cannot because you are far from Galicia. The easiest solution is to prepare it at home and do it well, so that it tastes like Galicia. If you want to eat Galician empanada, here you have a great recipe that is already yours.

Preparation of the lacón. Desalted and cooked.

I suppose that you all know lacón since one of the reference dishes in Galician cuisine is lacón con grelos . The name derives from the Latin “lacca” and refers to the front leg of the pig, especially its cured meat. We are facing a 100% Galician product rooted in Galician cuisine and I encourage you to try it.

1. We desalinate the shoulder, leaving it to soak in a large bowl of water overnight. About 12 hours approximately, although it depends on the size of the ham.
2. In this case it is a tiny ham, one and a half kilograms, which then remains in about 800 grams. We can give it a cut (without breaking it) to make it better and it fits well in the pot.
3. Once desalinated we put it in a pot of cold water over high heat and let it cook. The lacón must cook one hour per kilo. Although there are those who leave it even longer.
4. Cut into small pieces and reserve for the empanada.

Preparation of the filling for pork patties and mushrooms

1. Pour the oil into a saucepan. When it is hot we toss 3 onions in thin julienne, that is to say in thin strips.
2. We spend about 8 minutes over medium heat until they are transparent and poached. While it is poaching we cut the pepper into strips and the minced garlic.
3. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into small cubes. When the onion sauce is very soft, add the peppers and the tomato to the casserole. We cook for another 8 minutes over low heat.
4. We wash the mushrooms well and cut into strips. We put a frying pan on the fire with two tablespoons of oil and add the minced garlic.
5. As soon as it is browned, remove it with a slotted spoon and put the mushrooms into strips in the pan. We stir until they reduce their size in half. Add the garlic again and let it rest.
6. Add the pork shoulder and mushrooms to the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. We remove the filling about 2 minutes until it changes color, it will be done in the oven.
8. We test the filling and rectify with salt, although it is most likely not necessary. We stir a few minutes and set aside.
9. Let it cool and put the excess oil in a glass.
10. Remove the excess oil so that the filling is juicy and at the same time to use it in the preparation of the dough, as I explain later.

Preparation of the Galician empanada dough

We already have the company cooling, the excess oil in the glass and now we can already prepare the empanada dough .

1. In a large bowl we introduce part of the flour. We leave about 4 tablespoons to fatten the dough.
2. In the center of the bowl, with a spoon we make a hole, and introduce the pressed baker’s yeast dissolved in warm water.
3. Beat with a wooden spoon from the center outwards and gradually mix with the flour.
4. Add the oil from the sauce of the filling and the salt, without going over since the oil for frying the pork is a little salty. We continue removing what begins to be the dough. For now it will be a sticky but firm mix.
5. We prepare the area where we are going to knead, for example the kitchen counter is perfect. We fill the area of ​​the counter with flour, remove the dough from the bowl and begin to work the dough with your hands.
6. Little by little we can manipulate the dough more quickly, it will be elastic. This process takes about 10 minutes.
7. We are turning the dough into a ball. We take the previous bowl and flour it. We introduce the dumpling into it.
8. We cover the bowl with a cotton cloth for an hour and there we have the dough to start preparing the pork patty or the one that we like the most.

Preparation of the pork and mushroom pie

1. We divide the empanada dough into two similar parts. We knead them again in two balls of dough to be able to work well with them.
2. We flour the kitchen counter and roll out the dough with the rolling pin. We make the base that will be the size of the baking tray. We will stretch it as thin as possible with the help of the roller. We put on the tray a piece of baking paper and on top the base cutting the excess if needed.
3. We add the filling with the pieces of pork and mushrooms, well drained of oil (drained but somewhat oily and juicy so that it comes out very rich) and we stretch it all over the base. It is very important that the filling is cold so that the dough holds up well.
4. We cover with the other half well stretched and seal it by the edges, braiding the lower part over the upper one with the help of a fork or with the help of the fingers, from right to left and then pressing.
5. We make a small hole in the center for the empanada to breathe and with a fork we puncture through different areas, so it will not swell. We decorate with strips or cords of the excess pasta.

Here you have a step by step in photos where I show you how to prepare this recipe for Galician empanada de lacón and mushrooms . Do not miss any detail so that it comes out perfect.

Baking and final presentation of the pie

1. We paint the empanada with a mixture of beaten egg and a little milk. It is a small trick so that it is golden but does not burn, we help ourselves with a cooking brush.
2. We preheat the oven for 180 minutes at 180º C.
3. We put the empanada at the same temperature, first in the bottom of the oven (about 20 minutes) and then another 25 minutes in the center. When it is golden brown, we remove it.
4. In this case I have prepared 2 because there were many of us to eat and I have put them in the oven at the same time. About 10 more minutes and they were perfect.

And finally the empanada! Be careful when removing it from the tray because it will still be hot and it is easy to break.

Cut it with a good pair of scissors when it is warm and bon appetit.

If you fancy another Galician empanada with a touch of chef Iván Méndez . This video by Carlos Urbán in our project “Cooking with yummy meat with …” perfectly shows the character of the Galician empanada, with an autumnal air that gives him chestnuts, mushrooms and beef ham.

Enjoy just like them, it transmits that feeling of morriña and of wanting to return to Galicia as soon as possible.