Argentinean Empanadas Recipes

Steps:

• In a saute; pan melt the shortening and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until just before they begin to turn golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the sweet paprika, hot paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
• Spread the meat on a sieve and pour boiling water on it for partial cooking. Allow meat to cool. Place meat in a dish add salt to taste, cumin and vinegar. Mix and add the meat to the onion mixture. Mix well and place on a flat to dish to cool and harden.
• Cut puff pastry dough into 10 round shells. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on each round; add some of the raisins, olives and hard boiled egg. Avoid reaching the edges of the pastry with the filling because its oiliness will prevent good sealing. Slightly wet the edge of the pastry, fold in two and stick edges together. The shape should resemble that of a half-moon. You should have a 2/3 to 1/2 inch flat edge of pastry to work with. Seal by twisting edge, step by step, between thumb and index finger, making sure to add pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl. Other sealing procedures like pinching without curling or using a fork to seal will not prevent juice leaks during baking, and empanadas must be juicy.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Place empanadas on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Be sure to prick each empanada with a fork near the curl to allow steam to escape during baking. Glaze with egg for shine and bake until golden, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Steps:

• Sift the flour, mix the sifted flour and salt in a large bowl.
• Mix in the solid margarine or butter with your fingers, (best to cross cut with two knives). The flour should have an even, coarse texture, with the margarine lumps no larger than a pea.
• Beat together the water, eggs, and vinegar in a bowl. Slowly mix into the flour mixture, until you have the desired consistency (it should not be too sticky, but still malleable).
• Place the mixture on a floured surface. Knead with the heel of your hand to bring the dough together.
• Cover the dough and allow to sit in a cool place for at least an hour.
• 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.
• Heat some oil in a large saucepan. Mince the onions and garlic, and add to the pan. Cook until the onions become translucent.
• Add the ground meat. Break it up with with a spoon and cook, stirring until lightly browned. Drain off fat.
• Mix in the cumin, pepper flakes, and sugar. Adjust to taste.
• Chop the hard boiled eggs and halve the stuffed olives. Carefully mix into the meat mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Preheat the oven to 375ºF/200ºC.
• Stuff the empanada dough wrappers. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of each wrapper. Dampen the outer perimeter of the dough.
• 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 that it slightly overlaps the first piece. Repeat along the length of the folded side, until you create a braided or twisted seal.
• If desired, brush the tops of the empanadas with beaten egg yolk for a nice golden color.
• Place the folded empanadas on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Steps:

• If using frozen dough, allow to thaw.
• Cut pastry into rounds of any size from about 2 inches (5 cm) to 5 inches (12 cm) and set aside.
• In a small skillet saute the beef, onion, and garlic in butter over a moderate flame for 5 minutes.
• Add the salt, pepper, thyme, cumin, cayenne, and tomato and reduce the heat to a simmer.
• Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
• Soak the raisins in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain thoroughly. Add the raisins, olives, and eggs, and stir to combine.
• Divide the filling among the pastry rounds.
• Moisten the edges of the pastry with water or milk and fold in half over the meat, sealing the edges with the tines of a fork.
• Bake on an ungreased baking sheet in a preheated 400F (200C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 6 to 15, depending on size.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon caul fat. Add the chopped meat and white scallion slices, and saute until slightly browned. Add raisins and spices and cook until meat is cooked through. Stir in green scallion slices and roasted peppers. Let mixture cool.
• Fill empanada discs with meat, add 1 olive and 1 slice of egg. Seal the empanada.
• Preheat oil in a deep sauce pot fitted with a frying thermometer to 375 degrees F. Deep fry the empanadas in the oil for about 3 minutes. Remove from oil with slotted spoon. Drain on paper towels.
• *Available frozen at specialty markets.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Heat 1 tablespoon corn oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onions for 3 minutes, until translucent. Add corn and roasted red peppers; saute for 5 minutes or until the corn is fully cooked. Season with sugar, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to medium bowl, stir in cheese and heavy whipping cream. Let cool.
• On a cutting board, place 6 empanada shells side by side. Place a spoonful of the corn-cheese filling on 1 side of the circle. Moisten the tip of your finger with a small amount of water and moisten the edges of the circle with your finger. Fold the dough over the filling to make a half-circle. Press the edges with a fork to seal.
• Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the empanadas on prepared baking sheet.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make egg wash. Brush the top of the empanadas with the egg wash and bake for 20 minutes or until top is browned.
• Let cool and serve.

Steps:

• In a large frying pan, sautée the onions in the oil and butter. (Using butter is important since once cold, it will make assembling the empanadas easier). Sprinkle the crushed cube of vegetable stock (This enhances flavour). Add in the meat. Cook until slightly coloured (it is not recommended to cook well meat well, since then, the empanadas will be baked or fried, so a double cooking process will make meat harder!)
• ncorporate the tomato sauce (this is optional, but I find this makes empanadas "juicier", Argentinians love it when their empanadas drip the meat/onions/tomato juice!; this is also why you don't have to skimp on the onions...) Cook for 2'. Add in all the spices, the olives and hard-boiled eggs. Refrigerate, preferably 24hs.
• In a bowl, put the flour, adding slowly the melted fat or butter. Incorporate this using a fork. Then, put the mixture on your table, making a mound with a well in the center. Start adding the salmuera, little by little, make a ball. The mixture should not be neither too dry not too sticky. If the last happens, rub your hands with flour, and keep on kneading as you would bread dough. Continue until the dough is smooth.
• Form a ball, and let the dough rest (cover with a towel) for 15'. On a floured table top, flatten the dough ball, with a rolling pin, until it is 3 mm wide. Then, cut 12cm wide circles, using a pastry ring mold or a tea saucer.
• Nowadays, in Argentina, people rarely make the dough themselves, since it can be bought, pre cut, in the right size, in any supermarket. If you want to avoid the hassle of making the dough yourself, you can buy pastry puff sheets and cut them into smaller disks of the right dimension...the flavour won't be the same, but it is a great time-saver!
• OK, a spoonful of the filling is on the pastry disk, seal them as you see in the photo
• Place the empanadas on a baking tray, brushed with sunflower oil. Bake them (200°C°) for 15/20' until golden brown.
• For extra brilliance and taste, you can brush the empanadas with egg yolk. Some people love sprinkling cassonade (brown) sugar on them! (My family adores that !!)

Steps:

• Mince the beef.
• In a medium-size frying pan, heat olive oil.
• Add the onion, bell pepper; Saute over medium heat until the onion starts to turn golden.
• Add the meat.
• Season to taste with salt, red pepper, and paprika.
• Saute, stirring occasionally, until the beef is browned on all sides.
• Remove from heat; Mix in the egg, raisins, olives, and green onions. Allow to cool to room temperature.
• While the beef filling cools, pour the flour on a smooth surface, forming a mound.
• Using the back of a spoon, make a depression in the center.
• Add shortening in the depression. Mix and knead the ingredients until fully mixed.
• Dissolve the1/2 Tablespoon salt in warm water.
• Gradually incorporate this liquid into the dough, kneading 10-15 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic.
• Make balls of dough about the size of a golf ball.
• On the floured surface, roll out each ball of dough into a 10-cm-diameter circle.
• Flour your hands. Hold the dough circle in one hand and place1 tbsp of the filling in the center. Press and crimp the edges together to secure the filling within.
• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.
• Arrange the empanadas on the sheet and bake until the pastry is golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.
• Serve with chimichurri sauce (see below).
• DIRECTIONS FOR CHIMICHURRI SAUCE: (2-1/2 cups).
• Roughly chop the tomato, bell pepper, and onions.
• Place the vegetable in a blender.
• Add the garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar, and parsley.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Blend until all ingredients are well mixed.
• Transfer to a non-metal container. Cover and refrigerate.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook about 6 minutes, until translucent. Crumble in the beef and add the paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Cook until the beef is browned about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Drain off the excess grease. Stir in the vinegar. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for about 1 hour, until chilled. Stir in the olives and hard boiled egg whites.
• If baking the empanadas, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. and coat 2 baking sheets with vegetable oil.
• When working with the empanada disks, always keep all but the disk you're working with covered with a damp towel (not too wet). If the disks are very firm, place them 1 at a time on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll them to 1/2 to 1 inch larger than they are - to make them a little more pliable.
• To fill: lay an empanada disk on the work surface. Place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the dough disk. Tuck a cube of cheese into the center of the filling. Use your finger to wet the edges of the disk with water and fold over to seal. Gently press the tines of a fork along the edge to crimp. Lay the empanada on a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough disks.
• Brush the tops of the empanadas with vegetable oil and bake until golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot!
• If frying the empanadas, fill a skillet 3/4 inch deep with vegetable oil and heat to 360 degrees F, over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with paper towels. Fry the empanadas in the oil until golden brown and crisp - about 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Remove with tongs, letting the excess oil drip off back into the pan. Transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and kepp warm in the oven while you fry the remaining empanadas. Serve hot.