Empanada Recipe

I am a serious empanada freak! I will never forget the first time I tried an empanada, a savory or sweet stuffed pastry popular throughout South America. It was over ten years ago when I still lived in Monterey and worked with a Basque Chilean chef named Boris Ilabaca who bore a striking resemblance to Ringo Starr. Boris was very proud of the food of his native Chile and one afternoon during our family meal (restaurant speak for staff meal) he asked me if I had ever tried an empanada to which I shook my head no. The next day he showed up with a container of what looked like moon shaped pastries and reminded me a lot of Indian samosas. The outside crust was flakey and buttery and the stuffing on the inside was an intoxicating mix of meat, onions, olives, eggs and secret seasonings. I fell in love right there and then - with the empanada not Boris as he was and is still married to the lovely Arianna Ilabaca. I have learned over the years that every country and everyone has a different interpretation of what makes a good empanada. The filling varies according to the region and there is a strong debate over whether they should be baked or fried. Overall the key to a good empanada no matter the cooking method is the dough. It can't be too chewy, thick or thin and you can't be stingy on the filling either.

Of course, empanadas are popular throughout Argentina and on this recent trip, I ordered empanadas whenever I could as the versions found here in the states just don't taste the same. I ate so many of them that my friends started calling me "Alpanada". The empanada fillings vary according to where you are in Argentina but they are almost always baked, preferably in an earthen oven. I am in the baked camp as the fried versions tend to be too greasy.

When I returned to the States after my first trip to Argentina a few years ago, I kept ordering empanadas every time I saw them on a menu only to be dissapointed that they were not even close to what I had in South America. Maybe it's the water, beef lard, earthen oven or perhaps everything tastes better when you are on vacation but they fell short of what I remembered. I finally decided to take matters into my own hands and found this recipe which got me pretty darn close. You can make your own empanada dough or you can find frozen wrappers at your local Latin grocery store. I was told by my Argentine friend Nora that most people use the frozen wrappers.

Empanada Recipe

Recommended wine: Argentine Torrontes - try the Crios from Susana Balbo.

Preheat oven to 400°F

SHELL

4 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for rolling out the dough)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg yolk

1 whole egg, beaten

1/2 cup warm milk

1 cup butter melted or shortening

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Add beaten egg, yolk, milk and melted butter or shortening. The dough will be soft and slightly greasy due to the butter. Put in refrigerator to firm up as the chilled dough will be easier to roll out.

FILLING

2 hard-boiled large eggs
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 cup crushed San Marzano tomatoes
3/4 pound ground beef chuck
2 tablespoons raisins (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped pimiento-stuffed olives

Cut each egg crosswise into 10 thin slices and set aside.
Cook onion in olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, paprika and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add raisins, olives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced but mixture is still moist, about 10 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool.

Take a golf ball size piece of dough and roll into a 6 inch disc. Place 3 tablespoons meat mixture on disk and top with 2 slices of egg. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp with a fork. Make more empanadas in same manner.

Place empanadas on baking sheet, brush with egg whites or milk if desired and bake until brown - approx 15-20 minutes. You can also freeze any unbaked empanadas.

Yield - 20 empanadas

Comments

[consumatron]

Oh yum. I know what I'm making this weekend for lunches all next week!

[Alpana Singh]

The last time I made these, Charles took them for lunch for about a week. He kept telling his coworkers they were hot pockets.

[consumatron]

At least he's not bringing Hot Pockets to work and telling his coworkers that they were empanadas that his wife made!

I made some this evening. Small ones for snacks and larger ones for lunches: http://www.flickr.com/photos/consumatron/sets/72157611202060440/

Thanks again for the recipe.

[Alpana Singh]

Wow! They look fantastic! Thanks for sharing - now I'm inspired to make them. Great photos.

[blakelsey]

Excited to see this! I too am an empanada freak and, you are right, nothing compares to empanadas made in south america. Will try these and report back!

[Linda]

Growing up, my mom made empanadas for our after-school snack. They were the best! On our last trip to BA, I had them every time we sat down to eat. Here in Chicago, have you tried them at Buenos Aires Forever on Ashland? When they don't have issues with their oven, and they are properly baked, they are quite good.