Mini Sausage & Potato Empanadas with Fresh Chimichurri Sauce

2 Field Roast sausages (apple & sage flavor)

3 cups blue potatoes (small dice)

1 small white onion (diced)

1/4-1/2 cup hot peppers in vinegar (diced)

1 teaspoon of paprika (sweet)

juice from 1 lemon

bunch of fresh parsley

1 clove of garlic

2 cups AP flour

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup ice water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour, salt, and oil in a bowl. Add half the water and mix. Add the other half of the water and mix again. (You want a slightly stiff dough like a pie crust.) Wrap dough ball in plastic and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Over medium-high heat, drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil in a nonstick pan. Put the potatoes in a single layer, and do not disturb them for 4 minutes. (This is the secret to crisp potatoes.) Stir; layer again. Add the crumbled sausage and paprika and allow the sausage to brown. Add the onion; cook until translucent. Remove from heat, transfer to a bowl, and toss in the hot peppers. Allow mixture to cool enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Divide the dough in half and roll it out until it is about 1/8 to 1/16-inch thick. Use a cup to cut rounds out of the dough and stack them off to the side with a little flour in between each one so they don’t stick together. Grab one dough round and place it in the palm of your hand. Pick up a pinch of the filling and stuff it into the center of the dough round. Next, fold it like a taco, pinch the edges together, and set it on your work surface. Using a fork, seal the edge. Repeat until all of the dough has been used. This should make about a dozen. Bake on a silpat-lined baking sheet for 25 minutes.

While these are in the oven, make the chimichuri sauce. Into a food processor place the leaves from a bunch of parsley, the garlic, lemon juice, and three tablespoons or so of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend until it is a sauce. If it is too acidic, add some sugar.

The salad is simple, but the presentation is elegant. Layer sliced heirloom tomatoes and local lettuce on a large plate. Drizzle with olive oil, 10 year old balsamic vinegar, and crumble goat cheese over the top. Season with salt and pepper and you are ready to eat.