Empanadas, Ole!

Lately I have been craving things wrapped in dough.  All this thinking about tarts, hand-pies, mini-purses, and the like have got me wondering, "Hey, can't I eat my main course wrapped in dough too?"  Lo and behold, a random recipe for Empanadas, from who knows where!  All the deliciousness of a pie with the savory meatiness of a meal!  Yay!  If I knew where I found this recipe, I would certainly give props to the creator; unfortunately, when I printed it up a few months ago, it lost all trace of its ancestry.  Bad blogger!



 Empanada Dough
(Makes 8 medium empanadas)
3 C all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
6 oz unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cold and cut into pieces
1 egg
4-5 T water

1. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor.
2. Add the butter, egg, and water until a clumpy dough forms.
3. Form a ball and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes (I used a small plate)

Beef filling
1 lb ground beef
2 white onions, diced, about 3 cups
1/2 C butter
2 T smoked paprika
2 T chili powder
1 T chopped oregano
1/2 T ground cumin
1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, white and yolk separated and lightly whisked

Prep
1. Combine ground beef, paprika, red pepper, cumin, salt and pepper in large bowl.  Mix all ingredients together and chill until ready to use
2. Melt butter in a large frying pan, add the onions and salt, cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes
3.  Add the meat mixture to the onions and cook on medium heat until the meat is done, stir frequently.
4. Let the meat mixture (picadillo) cool down, and then mix in the chopped green onions and chopped oregano.
5. To assemble the empanadas, add a few spoonfuls of meat mixture in the center of each empanada disc.
6. Brush the edges of the discs with the egg whites.
7. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges gently with your fingers; twist and fold the edges of the empanadas with your fingers.  As a final step use a fork to press down and finish sealing.
8. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk.
9. Let the empanadas rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
10. Pre-heat the oven to 400F and bake for about 25 minutes.

This recipe was very fun to make, and satisfying to eat, but next time there are a few tweaks I would make:

1.  Less onions.  I'm an onion girl, but this was just a tad too much even for my tastes.
2.  Don't refrigerate the dough discs after cutting them out!  They will turn hard and crusty; I learned this the hard way.
3.  Maybe add some cheese inside, or serve with some sort of sauce or garnish.

I will say that I wasn't too sure I liked these when I served them hot for dinner, but the next day, microwaved for lunch, I definitely thought they were way better. 

Overall, I give this recipe about 3 and a half stars as is.  I will definitely make them again some time in the future, but with a few changes.  Buen Apetito!