Our family favourite, by far!
A traditional meat patty - EMPANADAS - were a major staple in my childhood home. My grandma used to make them and they were The Best.
She taught me how to make them and it's something I will be passing on to my kids when they can manage to restrain their mess to just the kitchen bench 😂
Oh, they are perfect for lunchboxes.* Whether you're sending these with the kids to school or taking them to work with you, they are the easiest thing to eat.
Warning - you may be asked to bring a batch to school/work, as they look, taste and smell delicious, and people around you will want to try them!
The secret is to leave the filling to cool down for an hour or longer in the fridge. This will contain the juices and make the wrapping much easier (as the dough won't "melt" in your hands from the hot filling)
* If there are egg allergies at school and your kids can't take them, simply don't add the eggs to the filling.
PREP - 15 to 20 minutes
COOK - 20 minutes
REFRIGERATE - 1 hour
TOTAL - about 1 HR 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1kg/2.2lb ONIONS, finely chopped *
1kg/2.2lb BEEF MINCE
1 RED CAPSICUM/BELL PEPPER, finely chopped *
2-3 CLOVES GARLIC, finely chopped
3 HARD BOILED EGGS, chopped
PUFF or SHORTCRUST PASTRY (I use Pampas in Australia. But if you can get the traditional Argentine "Tapas para Empanadas La Salteña", then you're in for a real treat
1/2 - 1 cup GREEN OLIVES *
1/2 cup OIL or BUTTER (I use Rice Bran oil)
2 tbspn SWEET PAPRIKA
1 tbspn GROUND CUMIN
1-2 tspn GROUND CHILLIES (if cooking for the little ones, you may want to cut this to 1/2 to 1 tspn only)
1 tspn OREGANO
1 tspn SALT
PEPPER to taste
* I use an Alligator Chopper to chop the onions and the capsicum/bell pepper. I am not affiliated to them in any way, but it's one of the best kitchen tools I've invested in. It's the easiest device for chopping!! I've had mine for more than 10 years now, and it still works like new.
The traditional recipe uses green olives. I use kalamata olives as my kids prefer them - that's the Aussie blood in them 😆. Also, my family loves the whole olives (pitted), but you may prefer to chop them.
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat the oil/butter over a medium-low heat. Add the onions with the salt and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until the juices of the onions are coming through
2. Add the capsicum/bell pepper. Then add the garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions turn a beautiful orange/red colour
3. Increase the heat to medium/high and add the mince, crumbling it into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Once browned, add the spices. Stir for a minute and then turn off the heat
4. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl to cool for about 10 minutes. Then add the olives and hard-boiled eggs, cover and put in the fridge for at least 1 hour (overnight is even better)
5. Turn the oven to 190-200C or 375-400F
6. Cut the sheet of pastry into four similar squares. Grab one square and fill it with about 1-2 tbspns of filling.
7. Fold it into a triangle and pinch the edges together to make the "repulgue" (You want to have enough space to make the "repulgue" without filling coming out of everywhere.) An easy way to do this is by simply pressing the edges with a fork. If you want to learn how to do it the way us Argies do it, check my reel for a quick demo, or here's a video that shows you how to do it
8. Place the empanadas on baking paper on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until lovely and golden
9. Enjoy!!!!!
Ps...don't let the kids eat them all 😆
