Empanadas Argentinas Recipe 55

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:

• 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:

• 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:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Crumble in the beef, and add the paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beef is browned, about 10 minutes.
• Drain off the excess grease. Stir in the vinegar. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Stir in the olives and hard-cooked egg whites.
• If baking the empanadas, preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with vegetable oil.
• When working with empanada disks, always keep all but the disk you're working with covered with a damp towel. If the disks are very firm, place them one 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, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot. If frying the empanadas, fill a skillet 3/4 inch deep with vegetable oil and heat to 360°F. over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line 2 baking sheets with paper towels. Fry the empanadas in the oil until golden brown and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Remove with tongs, letting excess oil drip back into the pan, and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining empanadas. Serve hot.

Steps:

• Prepare filling: Cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large, nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until vegetables are tender and beef is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Add olives, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in chopped eggs.
• Scrape mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, 1 to 2 hours; this ensures the dough will not be soggy when the empanadas are baked.
• Prepare dough: Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Whisk cold water, egg, and vinegar together in a small bowl. Pour into the dry ingredients and blend with a fork. Use your hands to finish blending the ingredients until they come together in a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut circles, rerolling the scraps as necessary. I got about 18 circles.
• Hold each circle in your hand and place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Gently fold the ends over the top and press to seal all the way around. Reserve extra filling for another use.
• Set empanadas on a baking sheet. Press around the sealed edges with a fork if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on the bottoms, about 18 minutes. Flip and bake until the other side is browned, about 5 more minutes.

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until barely tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. Once cool enough to handle, peel and cut into cubes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet and cook onion and spring onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Add ground beef. Cook and stir until beef is browned, about 5 minutes. Season with paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt.
• Remove beef mixture from heat, add potatoes and olives, and mix well. Stir in chopped hard-boiled eggs and set filling aside to cool, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly grease with olive oil.
• Place an empanada pastry round on a flat surface and lightly wet edges with warm water. Put a large tablespoon of cooled filling in the center and fold pastry over. Seal edges by pressing with a fork. Repeat with remaining rounds and filling. Transfer empanadas to the prepared baking sheets and brush with beaten egg.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden, 15 to 20 minutes.