Matt’s Argentinian Empanadas

Matt’s dad was born in Argentina, so we love to make Argentinian empanadas, or any empanadas, because they are so delicious, and you can pick so many different varieties of fillings! We prefer this style because they are baked instead of fried. Back when Matt and I lived in Nicaragua and he managed a hotel, he taught the kitchen staff to bake empanadas in bulk, and we would have them once a week with dinner. When we moved back to Miami, we continued to make them, but they take a while and it is truly a labor of love. Now that we have two kids, we don’t have much time to spend all day cooking, but we decided on this particular day, in Marthas Vineyard, to go for it since we have help from the grandparents with the kids! It was so fun baking them together after a hiatus for so many years, and here is the recipe we used!

Ingredients:

Dough:

3 cups flour

1 egg yolk

½ cup of butter

1 cup of whole milk

½ tsp salt

Beef Picadillo Filling:

1 lb ground beef

2 white onions diced or about 3 cups

1/2 cup butter

2 tbs paprika

2 tsp chili powder

1 tbs chopped fresh oregano

½ tbs ground cumin

1 bunch chopped green onions

3 hard boiled eggs sliced

¼ cup sliced green olives

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg white and yolk separated

Since the dough gets refrigerated we started with that first.

1. Mix the flour and salt until well combined. We didn’t have our mixer or a food processor, so Matt used his hands which did work fine.
2. Add the butter, blend well or squish into the mixture as best as you can.
3. Add the egg yolk and milk, and mix until the dough starts to form.
4. Cut and separate into dough balls (we made four) and flatten them into disks. Let them chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. During this 30 minutes we prepped the filling.
5. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas. We used a little bowl to get the circles, so if you don’t have a cookie cutter, that is okay. Use the circles immediately, or store them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to put together the empanadas, because if you let them sit out the dough will get too soft.

The next step is to create the filling while your dough chills…

1. Combine the ground beef, paprika, red pepper, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onions and salt, and cook until the onions are soft, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the ground beef mixture to the onions and cook on medium heat until the meat is done, stirring frequently.
4. Let the beef mixture cool down, and then mix in the green onions and oregano.

Once the mixture cools down, then it’s on to assembling the empanadas!

To assemble the empanadas add a spoonful of the meat mixture to the center of each empanada circle, add a slice of egg and sliced olive. Don’t overstuff the empanadas, because if the dough becomes too thin they can bust open while cooking in the oven. Once the meat is placed, you want to brush the edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites to help seal the empanada, it will act as a kind of glue. Fold the discs carefully over the meat in the center, and seal the edges gently with your fingers. After pressing down the edges to make sure they are fully connected, and then use a fork to crimp and finish sealing the edges. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give them a nice golden glow when they bake.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 400F, until golden on top.

We served the empanadas with a chimichurri sauce! You can find lots of simple recipes for that, or serve with any dipping sauce you like!

If you make this recipe, make sure to tag me on stories!

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