- Beef empanadas
Serves 10
Filling
Directions
The filling should be prepared one day in advance and kept refrigerated.
Chop the onions and pour into a pan with some salt. Add boiling water until you cover the onions. Cook medium-low and stir with a wooden spoon until the onions look soft and translucent. Then use a strainer and drain the onions thoroughly.
Now pour the onions back into the pan, add the beef, melted lard, butter, oil and seasonings. Mix well with your hands. Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring with a wooden spoon until the beef is cooked. Taste and see if salt is correct and the filling is tasty.
Finally, remove from the heat, wait until the mixture cools, and put into the fridge.
Pastry
Directions
Mix all the dry ingredients. Then make a hole in the middle of the flour mixture and pour in half of the melted fat (or lard) and butter. Slowly, using a wooden spoon, add little by little some more flour and brine, blending the dry ingredients with the rest of the melted butter and salted water so as to get a supple dough. Knead until you get very soft pastry with neither lumps nor dry spots. Then sprinkle some flour or the surface and make up little balls, sprinkling with flour again. Roll each ball into long strips about 12 cm wide. Brush with melted butter and, using a strainer, sprinkle some cornstarch over the butter. Fold each piece of dough in two, forming a second strip. Roll again lengthwise piece by piece until they get thin. Use tea size saucers to cut round shapes. Then pile the circles up, sprinkling cornstarch between them, so that they don't get stuck. Cover up with a piece of cling film so that the pastry doesn't go dry.
Pour 1 tablespoon of filling into the middle of each pastry circle. Add a bit of hard boiled egg and a green olive to the beef mixture.
Then moisten the edges of each pastry circle either with water or beaten eggs. Fold in two forming half moons. Seal by pressing the edges and twisting them with your hands. You can also use a fork to create fancy borders.
Finally, glaze with beaten egg and a little oil and bake in hot oven until golden.
