Empanadas: January Recipe Challenge

So I have told many of you that my not-a-new-years-resolution New Years Resolution was to make at least one new recipe each month of 2012. This has lead to some interesting conversations at home about what to make and we have started our wishlist. This weekend, we have decided to try two new recipes. Take that January.

Our first recipe of the weekend was Beef Empanadas. When we were in grad school, Jordan's friends would have fun potlucks with all kinds of delicious foods. Most of them were Spanish inspired (makes sense since they were all working on Spanish degrees). So this weekend, I decided to try to recreate one of our favorite dishes. Empanadas are like mini hotpockets filled with deliciousness. When Jordan lived in Chile, they were some of the cheep street food they would get when they went out... I think that they are fantastic and am excited to see how many ways I can use this recipe in the future...

Empanadas 


Ingrediants:

2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. chopped onion
1 lb. lean ground beef or pork
2 lg. ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 can (3 oz.) green chilies, drained, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. chopped black olives

1 1/2 c. unsifted flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shortening (Crisco best)
4 to 4 1/2 tbsp. cold water
1 egg yolk

Recipe:

1. TO MAKE FILLING: In hot butter in large skillet saute onion until tender. Add beef and saute until brown.

2. Add tomato, chilies, 1 teaspoon of salt and bay leaf; simmer, stirring occasionally about 20 minutes or until liquid evaporated. Remove from heat, discard bay leaf. Stir in olives.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

4. Meanwhile, MAKE PASTRY: In medium bowl, combine flour, salt, shortening and water. Blend until mixture holds together like bread dough.

5. Divide pastry into 12 pieces on lightly floured surface

 

6. Roll each piece into a 6 inch round. Place about 3 tablespoons of filling in one half of each round, fold over other half.

7. Press edges together with fingers, to seal, flute edges. Cut slits on top of each empanada, brush with egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. 

So I realized when I finished the recipe, that I could have used pre-made dough instead of making my own. If you do this, you will only need to prepare the meat filling. Either way, they are delightful!