I have to say actually, that my empanadas did have a slightly red/orangey tint to it; partly because of the free-range egg yolk I used (from our next-door-neighbour’s chickens), which instantly turned the flour yellow, and also because of the paprika. The dough is extremely beautiful to handle, especially when it’s warm from the milk! It’s one of the easiest pastry doughs I’ve handled. It’s not sticky at all, and I managed to roll it out on a surface without any extra flour.

A good way to roll dough thinly without ripping it and to get an even thickness is to do it in sections. It does take longer, but the results are worth it: when you’ve rolled the dough and have come to the point where it’s not stretching out any further, that’s the time to flip the dough and roll it on the other side. It really works, and you continuously flip the dough until you have reached the desired thickness.

Here’s a another tip that’s particularly useful: if you accidentally break some egg shell in your egg, use the rest of the egg shell to remove it. It’s a lot easier than using a spoon or your fingers, as the egg shell seems to repel these. And when separating eggs, it’s a lot easier to break the egg, and then use the two halves of the shell to transfer the yolk backwards and forwards, letting the whites drip into a bowl. It really works!

On a final note: it was really time consuming to make these. The dough and beef filling didn’t take long to prepare and cook at all; it was the rolling, cutting, filling, folding, brushing and baking of the empanadas that took ages! But, the love showed through and I got compliments all around! I have to say so myself, they were pretty darn good!

Empanadas Argentinas
Source: Laylita’s Recipes

Ingredients
Masa de empanada (dough):
• 3 cups (~520g) flour
• 1 x egg yolk
• ½ cup (~115g) butter
• ¾ cup (160ml) warm milk
• ½ tsp salt

Relleno de picadillo de vacuno (beef picadillo filling):
• 500g ground/minced beef
• 2 x onions, diced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp hot chilli powder
• 1 tbsp dried crushed chillies
• 1 tbsp oregano
• ½ tbsp ground coriander
• 1 bunch spring onions
• 3 x hard boiled eggs
• ¼ cup (~50g) green olives, diced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 x egg, separated

Preparation
For the dough:
Sieve the flour into a large wooden bowl and add the salt. Give a quick stir with a wooden spoon, and add the melted butter. Mix well with the wooden spoon until it starts to form lumps.

Add the egg yolk and the milk, and give a mix until it all comes together and is nice and homogeneous. Then use your hands to knead it for a couple of minutes before separating into two discs, wrapping in foil and popping into the fridge for half an hour.

For the beed filling:
In the meantime, put 2 tablespoons of butter into a large heavy-bottomed dish, and pop over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and translucent. Then pop in the paprika, chilli powder, oregano, coriander and crushed chillies, and mix in the beef.

Cook until the meat is finished (make sure there’s no pink left at all), mixing it every now and then.

Leave the mixture to cool a bit. Slice the spring onions and olives, then mix in the with beef.

Assembling the empanadas:
Take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out thinly. Use a sharp knife to trace around a small bowl as a template for the empanada discs. Make sure they’re not too thin; approximately 1/8″ thin.

Pop a tablespoonful of mixture onto each disc, and then a piece of egg on each. Brush a thin layer of egg white around the edges of the disc (this glues them together naturally), and then use your fingers to fold the disc in half and to press down on the edges to seal the beef inside. Then fold the edges over slightly, and press down with a fork.

Baking the empanadas:
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Whisk the egg yolk in a small bowl, and brush over the top of the empanadas. Make sure it’s a thin layer, as you don’t want baked egg on top of them! The thin layer of egg yolk makes them turn brown in the oven. Bake them for approximately 25 minutes, and serve warm with chimichurri. ???

¡Buen Provecho!

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