Argentinian Empanadas

One of my friends growing up was Argentinian. She and her mom made empanadas that I have never been able to replicate. They were the right size, spiced perfectly, and the dough was soft and golden like it should be. Now, I have tried so hard to replicate them or find something close to them. I took it upon myself to try this Argentinian empanada recipe. They were definitely not as good as the original ones but they were a close second.

Ingredients:

Filling

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 2 white onions, chopped (about 4 cups)

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ of a red bell pepper, diced

• 1½ tsp chilli powder

• 1 Tbsp cumin

• 2 Tbsp sweet paprika

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp beef bouillon

• 1 lb lean ground beef

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 bunch of green onions, just the green part, finely chopped

• ½ cup chopped green olives

• ½ cup chopped fresh parsley

• 3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped

Dough

• 4 cups flour

• 2 tsp salt

• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 egg, beaten

• 2 Tbsp oil

• ¾ - 1 cup warm water

• Egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp water)

Directions:

Filling

1. Heat olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add garlic and diced red pepper. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often. Add chilli powder, cumin, sweet paprika, and oregano. Cook for 2 minutes.

3. Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling into small pieces until browned. Stir in beef bouillon.

4. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. Then, stir in green onion, olives, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.

5. Cover the and chill mixture for at least 1 hour or up to 3 days (depending on the freshness of the ingredients). It’s important that the mixture is chilled before filling the empanadas.

Dough

1. Add flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add egg and butter and stir

2. Place dough in a clean greased bowl and cover tightly. Allow resting at room temperature for 1 hour. (Or, refrigerate for up to 1 day, removing from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)

Assembly

1. Divide the dough into two pieces. On a greased counter top roll each piece into a very large circle, about 1/8in thick (not so thin that it might break when filling or baking).

2. Use a small bowl or round cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles about 6in in diameter for regular-size empanadas or 3 inches for mini empanadas.

3. Remove the excess dough from around the cut circles and keep the circles where they are for filling them (so they hold their perfect circle shape). Leftover scraps can be re-rolled to make more dough to cut out.

4. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling (for regular-size empanadas) in the centre of each circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges of the circle with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle.

5. Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding them over.

6. Place empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with a little bit of egg wash and bake at 375ºF For 25-30 minutes until golden brown and fully cooked.

Notes:

• Other filling options are walnuts, raisins, diced potatoes, chicken or ground turkey, carrots, peas, ham and jam, chocolate, and cheese empanadas

Serves: About 20 regular-size empanadas