Rita's Argentinian Empanadas
History
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Empanadas
are baked or fried pastries of dough with savoury fillings.
These traditional pastries come in one shape (semi-circle) and many sizes - from
the “empanada gallega”, big enough to feed a family, to “empanaditas”,
tiny ravioli-size pastries. Our popular version of the empanada is a single-serving
size turnover.
Uses
Eat hot or cold for a light
lunch or as an entry before a “barbecue”; empanadas may have different
fillings and are mainly prepared on our national festivities. They are always
served with some good red wine.
Description
We used to make these semi-circles
of flaky pastry dough by hand and fill them with a traditional filling of minced
meat. Nowadays we can buy the dough ready-made –they come by the dozen- and
prepare many different fillings, or buy empanadas already baked/ fried “to go”.
Apart from the classical
Argentinian “empanadas” (see recipe below), there is a wide variety of
fillings: cheese and onion; cheese, onion and tomato; corn and white sauce;
spinach; tuna fish, or any other sweet or savoury combination.
What
is needed:
For
the filling
3
tablespoons corn oil
½ cup sliced onions
1/2 cup diced red and green peppers
1 cup beef broth
½ kg minced meat (beef)
¼ cup raisins
1
boiled egg
¼ cup
green olives
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoons cumin
For the crust
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated white sugar
½ cup cold butter, cut into ½-inch cubes (or 1 1/3 cup corn oil)
¼ cup water (with ice cubes)
Egg wash: 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon of water
Cook
the filling: In a large wok or casserole heat the oil. Sauté the onions
1 to 2 minutes. Add the peppers. Stir in the minced meat. Add some broth and let
simmer gently for a few minutes. Then add green olives, some chopped boiled egg
and raisins. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and
Make the crust.
Preheat oven to 400 F. 1) In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and the sugar. 2)Using
a pastry blender or two knives cut the butter into the flour mixture until the
butter is well distributed and mixture resembles semi-dry sand. 3) Pour in the water and mix well to form a solid
dough.
5) Dust the worktable and the rolling pin with flour. Roll out the dough, putting a little pressure on the rolling pin so that the dough will spread out evenly.
6) The
objective is to spread out the dough to a thickness of about 1/8 of an inch. To
do this, turn dough often. Dust the table and the rolling
9)
Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash. Fold the two ends of the crust
together so that filling is enclosed. Press the edges together with your fingers
or
10)
Arrange in greased cookie sheet. Prick surface of each empanada with a fork to
allow steam to escape. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and
brush again with the egg wash. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until
