Another day on my COVID-19 watch…

Empanadas….Yes, it is a comfort food kind of day. The rain has started. So as this chaos and life weirdness continue, any semblance of normalcy is appreciated. I was thinking of the Rotary Club of Temecula which I am a member of and all the great things they do locally here in Temecula and in the World. We are supposed to be doing a ZOOM meeting tomorrow. I have never been part of a zoom. I guess there’s always a first time!

If you are not familiar with what Rotary is involved in, click my link and you can see what we do. Rotary is basically one of the largest service organizations in the world.

What does all the above have to do with empanadas? I am getting to it. While I was president of my Rotary Club, I was involved in doing a service project for a School for the Blind and Disabled in the area of Moreno-Trujui outside of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Visiting Argentina about 4 times, I confirmed to myself the main focus of Rotary; Service Above Self. I left Argentina loving the Rotary Club of Moreno-Truji, its members, and the people of Argentina who we helped through Rotary. I still keep in contact with those that I stayed with while I was there. I have never stopped loving the foods of Argentina, in particular, the empanada. My friend Alex, continues to remind me, as his parents are both from Argentina, the foods that he loves such as Pizza Faina, Chocolate Alfajores, and grilled meats from an Argentine traditional Asado which I have been lucky to have recently enjoyed having been invited to my friends home to partake. But alas, I digress. Today is all about the Empanada!

Beef Empanadas Crimped With a Pinch and Roll

The perfect empanada is always well seasoned and the pastry is flaky and tender! I would hazard a guess that most cultures of the world have their own version of a Meat Pie/Pastry; from the Polish Pierogi, to Chinese Dumplings, and the Irish Pasty. I do love my empanadas though especially when combined with chimichurri. They just go together perfectly and will take care of any food comfort issues I may have had when waking up this morning! Check my link for the recipe for chimichurri.

Ham and Cheese Empanadas Crimped with a Fork

So, bottom-line… today’s dish of Empanadas will help me get through this COVID day of fun and frolic. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

As always, thanks for Spending Time in My Kitchen!

The Best Argentine Empanada!

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by David Frank – Spending Time In My Kitchen

Empanadas

Approximately

Prep time

minutes

Empanada Cooking time

minutes

Total Cooking time

hour

minutes

Ingredients

Beef Empanada
1 Package 1 Empanada disks
2 lbs 2 Ground beef (80%-20%)
2 Tbl 2 Olive oil
1 lg 1 Onion, sweet or yellow
2 Tbl 2 Cumin
2 Tbl 2 Smoked paprika
1 Tbl 1 Chili powder,
2 tsp 2 Oregano, dried
1 tsp 1 Red pepper flakes
16 oz 16 Chicken broth
1 cup 1 Green olives, small slices into rounds
2 2 Hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup 1/2 Raisins (optional)
Ham and Cheese Empanada
1 lb 1 Ham, chopped (any cooked ham you have available.)
1 lg 1 Onion
1 Tbl 1 Oregano, dried
1 lb 1 Mozzarella, whole milk, low moisture cut into 1/2 ” cubes
1 Tbl 1 Cornstarch
1 1 Egg, whisked

Directions

Set oven temp to 375°
Ham and Cheese Empanadas
Pull out empanada disks from the fridge 20 minutes before use. If frozen, pull out the night before.
Drizzle some olive oil and 1 Tbl of butter into a large skillet. Add onions to the pan and saute until golden…approximately 10 – 15 minutes.
Mix chopped ham into the onions. Add oregano to the filling and mix well. Cook an additional 5 minutes.
Take the filling off the heat and let it cool down.
Cut mozzarella into 1/2 ” cubes. Add cornstarch to the cheese and stir. (Cornstarch will help keep the cheese from turning to liquid.)
Whisk one egg into a small bowl which will be used to brush on the outside of the empanadas before placing them into the oven.
Fill another small bowl with water to dip your finger in so as to wet 1/2 the outer edge of the disc before pressing together to close. Keep a hand towel close by to wipe your fingers after applying water to the edge.
Take out one disc at a time. Place approximately 2 Tablespoons of filling onto the middle of the disc. Add 2 to 3 cubes of cheese into the empanada. Wet the top 1/2 edge of the disk and press the disc together to look like a half-moon. (There are many ways to “crimp” the outside edge. The easiest would be to take a fork and press lightly around the edge.) I used shredded cheese in the picture below. Trying to use up my pantry! Cubes are better!
Place the filled empanadas on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush egg wash on the outside of the empanada. Place the tray into the oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.
Beef Empanadas
Add olive oil and beef in a skillet or cast iron pan. Brown meat over medium-high heat. Do not cook completely. There is more cooking to be done! Remove meat from the pan and set aside in another bowl. Leave the fat in the pan that came from the meat.
Place onions in pan and brown until golden. If you need more fat to cook the onions, add a little butter.
When onions are done, add the beef back into the pan with the onions. Add all your dry spices to the filling and mix well.
Add broth to the pan and cook over medium heat until liquid has reduced. You do not want your filling to be completely dry. You want some moisture left in the filling. Make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan to get all those tasty brown bits.
Add green olives to the rest of the filling. Take the filling off the heat and let it cool down.
Take out one disc at a time. Place approximately 2 Tablespoons of filling onto the middle of the disc. Add a couple of extra olive slices and some chopped eggs into the empanada. Wet the top 1/2 edge of the disk and press the disc together to look like a half-moon. (There are many ways to “crimp” the outside edge. The easiest would be to take a fork and press lightly around the edge.)
Place the filled empanadas on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush egg wash on outside of the empanada. Place the tray into the oven for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown.
Dip those warm empanadas into the chimichurri sauce for a great small meal or appetiser! Enjoy!!

Notes

As I mentioned above, you can crimp the edges of the empanada in many different ways. I crimped my ham and cheese with a fork. The beef ones I pinched and rolled. It is better to try different crimping techniques so that when you sit at the table, you can tell which one is beef and which is ham. It does take a little practice and I am by no means an expert. You do get better though by the time you are at your 30th empanada!