Empanadas

Growing up in Queens, NY was truly a global experience. It seemed citizens from every culture in the world had settled within its borders – Koreans, Russians, Italians, Chinese, Puerto Ricans, and many, many more. One of the tastiest benefits of this was that it granted us access to dishes from around the world: Sushi, Jamaican patties, gyros, pizza, pierogies, and empanadas – especially empanadas.

Empanadas hold a special place in my heart, because they come from my mother’s homeland of South American – specifically, Colombia. But Colombians don’t own the franchise on empanadas; they can be found in every country in South America as well as in Spain (where they’re called empanadillas), and the varieties available are mind-boggling. You can get them with meats such as beef, pork, chicken, and fish, and with an almost infinite variety of other filing ingredients – potatoes, peas, raisins, eggs, rice, peppers, carrots, and more. Sweet empanadas can be filled with a variety of tropical fruits (mangoes, guavas, sweet plantain, pineapple), jelly, or dulce de leche (a type of caramel spread).

Today I’m bringing you a recipe for traditional Argentinian empanadas (which are very similar to the Colombian empanadas, except that the Colombian variety usually contains potatoes and pork, and sometimes cheese). This recipe is for baked empanadas, which I just find easier to make, but they can just as easily be fried. If you’ve never made empanadas, this is a great authentic recipe to start with!

Argentinian Empanadas

Ingredients:

dough:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus some for dusting)
• 1 pkg active dry yeast
• 1 cup lukewarm water
• Cooking spray

filling:

• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup minced onion
• 1 pound ground beef
• 8 oz. tomato sauce (unseasoned)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 4 hardcooked eggs, chopped coarsely
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 16 pimento-stuffed olives
• Baking sheets

In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt and mix thoroughly. Add water, mixing to form soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest 4 hours. ALTERNATE INSTRUCTIONS: Use 6 refrigerated pie crusts (the kind that comes rolled up, NOT the kind that comes preformed into a crust pan). Remove dough from refrigerator before preparing beef filling, and it should be sufficiently thawed by the time you’re ready to fill. When they’re soft enough to roll out, roll them out and cut circles (about 4-5 inches diameter) from each, to make 16 circles total. You’ll need to re-roll the dough after you cut out circles, to ensure you have enough dough.

In a medium skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook until browned, stirring frequently. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Continue cooking uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in the eggs, raisin, paprika, salt, and cumin. Season to taste according to preference. Set aside.

If you’re using the dough recipe included, roll out the dough onto a work surface that has been lightly coated with flour. Roll until it’s 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out 4- to 5-inch circles. Form scraps into a ball and re-roll; continue until you have 16 circles. If using refrigerated dough, see the alternate instructions above.

Forming empanadas:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spoon a generous tablespoon of filling in the center of a dough circle; place an olive on the filling. Lightly moisten the edge of the circle with cold water and fold the dough over, expelling as much air as possible, and form a half-circle. Seal by pressing the edges of the empanada together.

Cooking:

Spray baking sheets lightly with cooking spray. Place empanadas on baking sheet, leaving 3-4 inches space between, and bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown (empanada should sound hollow when tapped, like a baked loaf of bread). Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes before serving (filling will be hot).

Enjoy