Argentine Beef Empanadas
InternationalArgentine75 minServes 12
They say that on the plains of the Pampas, when the cold wind blew, grandmothers would wrap the dough around the filling as if wrapping a blanket around a sleeping child. Each pastry is closed with a braid of twelve folds, and each fold keeps a secret. The gaucho horseman carried them in his pocket on long journeys, and they stayed warm like a piece of home. Since then empanadas have been the guest's gift and the traveller's companion.
Origin of the dish: Argentina (the north-west: Tucumán and Salta) — Empanadas have Spanish and Arab roots and many styles across Latin America
Ingredients for Argentine Beef Empanadas
- For the dough: 3 cups flour
- For the dough: 120 g melted butter or ghee
- For the dough: 1 cup warm water with 1 tsp salt
- For the filling: 500 g minced or finely chopped beef
- For the filling: 2 large onions, chopped
- For the filling: ½ red bell pepper
- For the filling: 1 spring onion
- For the filling: 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- For the filling: 1 tsp cumin
- For the filling: chilli pepper to taste
- For the filling: 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- For the filling: green olives
- For the filling: salt and pepper
- For the egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Method
- Mix the flour with the melted butter and gradually add the salted water until a smooth dough forms; cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Brown the onions and pepper until soft, add the beef and stir until it changes colour, then add the paprika, cumin, salt and chilli.
- Add the spring onion and cool the filling completely (the secret to empanadas that do not burst open).
- Roll out the dough and cut it into circles about 13 cm in diameter.
- Put a spoonful of filling, a piece of egg and an olive on each circle.
- Fold the circle over and seal the edge with the traditional braided fold (repulgue) or press it with a fork.
- Brush with the egg and bake at 200°C for about 20 minutes until golden.
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