Beef & Potato Empanadas

It’s not exactly a secret that I like stuffed dishes. One of the tags I use regularly on this blog is “stuffed with good stuff”. There’s just something more fun about biting into something and finding another layer of taste.

So empanadas were clearly sorely missed on this blog – I’d done wontons and “fauxmosas”, but not empanadas? Partially this is because DC is home to some very fine empanada shops and I can buy homemade (and often fresh out of the oven) empanadas pretty much whenever I want and partially it’s because I didn’t own a rolling pin/didn’t want to deal with the amount of mess that would come with making my own empanada dough.

But once the temperature cooled and hanging out in my kitchen seemed less like torture and more fun, I couldn’t resist the lure of meat encased in buttery, flakey pastry without having to put on proper clothing to enjoy. So I gave a basic empanada recipe I shot and found it pretty easy!

Hope you enjoy as well.

Beef & Potato Empanadas

From The Kitchn

A slightly healthier (and less time intensive) switch is to use the Goya pre-made empanada skins. You’ll end up with slightly larger empanadas, but you won’t have to make and roll out the dough yourself and will cut down on the amount of butter you ultimately ingest.

If you’re making this recipe for one, freeze the empanadas before baking on wax covered baking sheet for an hour until hard to the touch. Store in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag until baking. Place directly from freezer into the oven and add about 5 minutes to the baking time.

Ingredients

For the dough:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, frozen
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 large egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

For the filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large baking potato, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 small white onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, cored and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound ground beef
15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 small bunch cilantro, minced

To bake:
1 large egg
2 tablespoons milk

Equipment

Food processor (or if you don’t have, use a box grater and knead with your hands), large skillet, mixing bowls, saran wrap

Make the dough: Use the shredding blade to shred 1/2 cup frozen butter, then quickly add flour and salt. Mix with your fingers until butter is coated, then switch blades for the traditional chopping blade, and mince for 5 pulses. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, water, and vinegar and add to food processor while blending until the dough just comes together. Remove and press into a tight ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

Make the filling: Heat the large skillet and add olive oil. Add potato, onion, diced pepper, and a pinch of salt. Cook on medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes until the potato is cooked through but isn’t falling apart. Add the meat, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro and continue cooking until meat is browned. Add additional salt and pepper if needed after tasting.

Assemble the empanada: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Roll out the dough on a well-floured surface until it’s about 1/4-thick.  Cut out circles of dough about 5-inches in diameter (or smaller – use whatever bowl is handy as a template, smaller bowls will make smaller empanadas). Fill each circle with about 1 tablespoon of filling and fold empanada in half, pinching together the edges to seal. Crimp the edges with a fork and place on baking sheet. Fill all the circles and roll out the extra dough to make as many wrappers as you can.

One you’ve finished assembling your empanadas, whisk together 1 egg and 2 tablespoons milk. Brush the tops of finished empanadas with solution, salt lightly, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly before eating.

Makes 12 to 14 empanadas