Empanada Recipe: A classic argentine dish
Empanadas may have originated in Spain (the Spanish verb “empanar” means to wrap or coat in bread) but it was in South America that their popularity grew, particularly in Argentina. Essentially a small, semi-circular pastry stuffed with various fillings, empanadas are deceptively easy to make.
Fillings vary from province to province based on the meats and produce that were historically available and include chorizo and cheese; beef with paprika, onion, eggs, and olives; and sweet corn. In Buenos Aires, you can find many more varieties at restaurants, which designate each pastry’s filling with a different pattern baked into the dough.
Empanada Recipe
To make the traditional beef filling, melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of corn oil and sauté 1 large onion until transparent. Add 1 pound of ground beef, 2 tablespoons of raisins, 1 tablespoon ground hot and sweet paprika, 1 tablespoon ground red dry spicy peppers, 1 tablespoon cumin, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Sauté until the meat is cooked and then put the mix in the refrigerator overnight, or for at least 1 hour. Just before cooking, add 2 cups of chopped hard-boiled eggs and ½ cup of chopped green olives.
Make the crust by mixing 4 ounces of butter or lard and 1 2/3 cups of flour in a bowl. Add a brine solution (1 cup of water with salt) until the dough can be easily formed into a ball. Let the dough rest about for 30 minutes and then roll sections into balls the size of half an egg. Roll the dough out into circular shapes about 1/8 inch thick.
Spoon the filling onto ½ of the rolled out dough and use a drop of water to fold the ends of the dough together, making a crescent shape. Press the edges with the tip of a fork or twirl the dough by hand to seal it. Place on a nonstick baking pan and bake at 350 degrees, until the crust turns light brown. You can also fry the empanadas in sunflower oil and then sprinkle with sugar.
Source: Buenos Aires 54, tourist information.
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