Empanadas are wonderful little pastries filled with meat and vegetables. Depending on the cuisine, you may find similar delicacies going by such names as samosa, Okie pie, gyoza, turnover, English pastie, hand pie, meat pie, stromboli, or pierogi. Whatever you call it, they are fun to make and can be filled with various ingredients.
Note: You can easily substitute chicken or vegetables for beef.
Homemade Empanadas
Print RecipeIngredients
- Dough Ingredients
- 9 ounces of all-purpose flour
- 1/4 ounce of salt
- 5 ounces of cold butter, cut into 5 pieces
- 1/3 cup of cold water
- Filling Ingredients
- 2 ounces of raisins
- 1 cup of boiling water
- 3 ounces of onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 8 ounces of Sirloin steak, boneless 1/4-inch dice
- 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
- 2 hard-boiled eggs chopped
- 20 pieces of green olives, pitted chopped or sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Dough Instructions
- Add the flour and salt to a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to mix.
- Add cold butter to the mixture and pulse a few times until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces.
- As the machine runs, add water through the feed tube. Then, pulse for a few times until the dough ball forms.
- Remove the dough, put it in plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator while preparing the filling.
Filling Instructions
- Soak raisins in the measured boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain. Set aside.
- Heat skillet, add olive oil. Add onions and cook until translucent.
- Cook the meat to skillet until browned. Stir in crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, reserved raisins, chopped egg and olives. Set aside.
Assembly Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll the dough on a floured surface to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out 4-inch rounds. The dough can be rolled a second time (after that, the dough gets too tough).
- Place 1-2 tablespoons in filling in the top center of each round. Moisten the edge with some water, fold the dough and press the edges together.
- Bake empanadas on an ungreased sheet pan until golden brown.
