Make Empanadas

Empanadas are a very popular street food in South America (in Brazil they're called 'pastéis' or 'pastel' in singular) and Spain. Essentially, an empanada is a crescent-shaped pastry with a filling. Empanadas can be fried or baked, and may use various fillings from cheese to seafood. While this recipe uses the traditional Argentine filling, you can fill an empanada with almost anything, so you are welcome to experiment.

Ingredients

Dough Wrapper

  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes, or 1 cup vegetable shortening
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup cold water
  • 2 tbs white vinegar

Argentine Meat Filling

  • 1 lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken
  • 4-6 hard boiled eggs
  • 1 cup green olives (optional)
  • handful of raisins (optional)
  • 1 or 2 large onions
  • 3 cloves of garlic (optional)
  • 2-3 tbs ground cumin powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste

Steps

Making the Dough

  1. Sift the flour.
  2. Mix the sifted flour and salt in a large bowl.
  3. Blend in the solid butter or lard with your fingers (best to crosscut with two sharp knives) until it breaks up. The flour mixture should have an even, coarse texture. The butter lumps should be no larger than the size of a pea.
  4. Beat together the eggs, water, and vinegar in a bowl. Add to the flour mixture and mix.
  5. Place the mixture on a floured surface. Knead with the heel of your hand to bring the dough together.
  6. Cover the dough and allow to sit in a cool place for at least an hour.
  7. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch (0.3 cm) thick. Cut into circles about 4-6 inches (10 - 15 cm) in diameter and lightly flour them.

Making the Filling

  1. Heat some oil in a large saucepan. Mince the onions and garlic, and add to the pan. Cook until the onions become translucent.
  2. Add the ground meat. Break it up with a spoon and cook, stirring until lightly browned. Drain off fat.
  3. Mix in the cumin, chili powder, and sugar.
  4. Chop the hard-boiled eggs and halve the stuffed olives. Carefully mix into the meat mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Preparing and Baking the Empanadas

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.
  2. Stuff the empanada dough wrappers. Place {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of the filling in the center of each wrapper. Dampen the outer perimeter of the dough.
  3. Fold over, forming a semicircle. Pinch a corner of the dough, and then fold that section onto itself. Pinch and pull out another 1/2-inch (1.2 cm) section and fold over, so it slightly overlaps the first piece. Repeat along the length of the folded side, until you create a braided or twisted seal.
  4. Place the folded empanadas on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
  5. Finished.


This video shows how to make black bean and chorizo empanadas.

Tips

  • A little egg brushed on top before baking will give the empanadas a nice golden brown color.
  • The empanadas can be deep-fried as well, which is also delicious (although not the healthiest choice).
  • You can use the tip of a fork to seal dough.
  • Butter-me-not biscuits may also be used.
  • If you don't have the time to make your own dough wrappers, you may be able to find frozen empanada wrappers. In some countries, Hispanic stores are a good place to try.
  • Mixture has more flavor if it sits in refrigerated overnight after cooking. Then placing in pastry. May be frozen, but best if thawed before cooking.
  • If the decorative folding is too difficult, the edges can simply be pinched together (as in a pie crust), or folded over. However you choose to do it, make sure the empanada is sealed well, or the filling risks falling out.
  • For a simpler filling, sautee one yellow onion, add in and cook 1 lb of beef, and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and red chili flakes to taste (be generous with the paprika). This should be enough for about 12 empanadas, plus a small slice or two of hard boiled egg in each one.

Things You'll Need

  • Cookie sheet/baking tray
  • Large bowl
  • Saucepan
  • Rolling pin
  • Cooking knife

Warnings

  • Spices in Argentina are not the same as in North America. Anything such as pepper or chili spices should be used very sparingly for true Argentinian flavor.

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