The Pumpkin Moon Empanadas

"Papi, does the moon taste like cheese?"

The little girl walked hand in hand with her father. The harvest moon hung in the fall night sky.

"Who told you that?"

"Tía Lupita told me."

"It don't taste like cheese. It tastes like pumpkin."

"How do you know, Papi?"

"Because when I was little like you, your abuelito—grandpa—took me there and we tasted it."

"For reals?'

"For reals, mi'jita." He tightened his grip as they walked along.

He smiled as he looked down at his little daughter and said, "One day I'm going to bring you the moon, and you and your mamá will make pumpkin moon empanadas—the best you've ever had."

A few days later, he kept his promise, for he brought home a pumpkin that looked like Cenicienta's (Cinderella's) coach. Its orange luminosity glowed against the bright green of its stem. A kind of sparkly dust clung to it.

He called after her laughing. "Mira, mi'ja. Didn't I tell you that your papito would bring you the moon?"

¿Y de dónde agarraste esto?—And where did you get this? It's too beautiful. We can't eat it," her mother objected.

"Of course we will eat it. I went through a lot of trouble to get this pumpkin, and you are going to make us some empanadas. Apúrate—hurry up, because tonight I'm going to eat some with you and la muñeca—the little doll."

So her mother cut up the pumpkin and roasted it in a hot oven until it was soft. Then she mashed it and let it hang in a bag of cloth until all the moisture was drained off. Her mother added cinnamon and spices with butter and piloncillo to the mashed pumpkin. The little girl watched as her mother rolled out the pastry dough, spooning up the dollops of pumpkin filling, and helped her fold the empanadas into crescent moon shapes.

The little family ate in silence. The empanadas tasted nothing like the empanadas they had ever had. They were bright and soft and flaky. The filling was delicate and flavorful, its sweet spicy aroma filling the small kitchen and wafting out of doors to other kitchens for miles around. People began to appear at their door begging for a taste, and before they knew it the empanadas were gone.

The following night it was dark, so dark that there was no moon to be seen. A harsh cold wind howled in from el norte. Gloom settled over the town, causing the townsfolk to wonder if Winter had come too early. "What will become of la cosecha—the harvest—and of us?" They asked.

Not long after, the little girl went outside to sit beneath her favorite tree and look! At its trunk sat a rare blue pumpkin, mottled grey and gigantic. It was strange and its odor was like nothing she had ever smelled. It sat there untouched, solitary and mysterious.

The rare blue pumpkin disappeared and in its place there appeared in the sky a huge orange moon that so reminded her of the pumpkin her father had brought home. Bright green stars began to shoot all over the expanse, lighting up the night sky until it felt like day.

"So it's true!"

The little muñeca is now an old woman, but she will never forget the day her papito brought down the moon just for her. Or how it tasted.

Pumpkin Empanadas

Empanadas de calabaza Yes, this is a labor intensive recipe, but certainly worth the effort. You will find that empanadas or pumpkin pie made from scratch is more delicate tasting then ones made from a can (from last year's harvest no less) with their tinny taste. Another note: I didn't have regular all-purpose flour on hand for the pastry, and boy, am I glad that I didn't! La Piña® Flour*, made for flour tortillas, made for a soft flaky crust. Piloncillo, which is used in this recipe, is an unrefined sugar in the shape of a cone (available in Mexican grocery stores). Dark brown sugar is a good substitute. Vodka in the recipe? Yes. With apologies to the liquor lovin' readers out there, it bakes right off. Water, if used in excess, can make the pastry gummy and tough. Vodka is the perfect solution: added moisture without the gumminess.

Pumpkin Filling:
about 2 cups of Oven Roasted Pumpkin Purée (Recipe to follow)
2 tablespoons butter
a pinch of salt
½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
½ teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1 or 2 cones of grated piloncillo, or ½ cup dark brown sugar (Dip the piloncillos in water to soften them.)

Pastry:
2 cups La Piña® Flour (only); or use a flour made from soft wheat like cake flour, but I cannot guarantee results.
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 tablespoon lard or shortening
4 tablespoons ice water
4 tablespoons vodka
½ teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 egg white

1 egg yoke mixed with a teaspoon of water

Oven Roasted Pumpkin Purée:

One 5 -7 pound pumpkin grown especially for baking, such as "Sugar Pumpkin", etc.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut up the pumpkin in large pieces, pierce the skins with a fork, and place them in an oven-safe pot, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft. Remove the lid from the pot and let it roast for 5 -7 minutes more. You can roast the pumpkin uncovered, skin side up, on a greased cookie sheet if you want, but you better keep an eye on them. (I prefer the first method.)

Remove the pumpkin pieces from the oven and let them cool for a bit. Spoon out the flesh and discard the outer skin.

Take the pumpkin flesh and whirl it in small batches in a blender until it is well-blended.

Place the pumpkin purée in a strainer, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it sit over a large bowl for a few hours so all the excess moisture will drain off. If you don't do this you will have soggy empanadas.

Makes about 2 cups of pumpkin purée for the empanada filling.

EMPANADA RECIPE DIRECTIONS:
To make the filling: Put the oven roasted pumpkin purée, the 2 tablespoons of butter and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a soft boil. Gradually add the piloncillo or brown sugar until it is as sweet as you want. Add the pumpkin spice and cinnamon and adjust the seasonings until it tastes the way to like it. Cook for about 2 minutes longer and set aside.

To make the pastry: On a hard surface, mix together the flour, lard, butter, salt and sugar with a pastry cutter or a chopping knife. Keep cutting into the mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.

Gradually add the ice water and vodka as you knead the dough. Keep kneading until it is pliable. If it is still a little too stiff add a tiny bit of vodka or water. Let the dough rest for about a half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Dust the hard surface with flour and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough in small batches until the dough is 1/8 inch thick. Take a small bowl (about 4 inches in diameter) and cut a circle of pastry dough.

In the middle of each circle, put a tablespoon of pumpkin filling. Do not add too much or it will squish out when baking.

Brush some egg white along the sides of each pastry. Fold the pastry over the filling, and use the tines of a fork to close it shut.

Place the empanadas on a greased cookie sheet. Brush each empanada with the egg yoke mixture or sprinkle with some sugar on it.

Place the empanadas in the pre-heated oven and let them bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are golden brown. Trick: after baking, remove the empanadas and place them on a brown paper bag. No more soggy bottoms! Works well for cookies, too.

Variation: a friend of mine likes to use a dinner plate to cut out the pastry to make giant empanadas to serve to her family and guests. Wow!

Makes a little less than 2 dozen empanadas.

*No, Pillsbury has not paid me to endorse this product.