Argentinian Style Beef Or Turkey Empanadas Recipes

Steps:

• Set racks in upper and lower thirds of oven, and preheat to 450 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cook beef in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up lumps, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer beef to a small bowl with a slotted spoon, and pour off grease from skillet. Melt butter in skillet and saute onions and green onion, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Return beef to skillet and stir in hard-boiled eggs, olives, raisins, cumin, salt, and pepper. Transfer mixture to a shallow bowl and chill until cooled, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Unfold 1 pastry sheet, keeping remaining chilled, onto a lightly floured surface, dust lightly with flour, and roll out into a 12-inch square. Cut 4 (5 1/2-inch) rounds from pastry. Brush a 1/2-inch border around edges of 1 round with water, using a small brush or fingertip. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling onto half of round. Fold other half over filling and press edges together firmly. Crimp edges with a fork and transfer to one of prepared baking sheets. Repeat with 3 remaining rounds. Form 12 more empanadas in same manner with remaining pastry and filling, arranging them about 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets.
• Brush tops of empanadas with beaten egg. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through, until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• Prepare filling: Cook ground beef, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a large, nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat until vegetables are tender and beef is browned and crumbly, about 10 minutes. Add olives, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in chopped eggs.
• Scrape mixture into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until fully chilled, 1 to 2 hours; this ensures the dough will not be soggy when the empanadas are baked.
• Prepare dough: Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl until combined. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Whisk cold water, egg, and vinegar together in a small bowl. Pour into the dry ingredients and blend with a fork. Use your hands to finish blending the ingredients until they come together in a ball. Flatten the ball into a disc, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut circles, rerolling the scraps as necessary. I got about 18 circles.
• Hold each circle in your hand and place a heaping tablespoon of filling in the center. Gently fold the ends over the top and press to seal all the way around. Reserve extra filling for another use.
• Set empanadas on a baking sheet. Press around the sealed edges with a fork if desired.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown on the bottoms, about 18 minutes. Flip and bake until the other side is browned, about 5 more minutes.

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Crumble in the beef, and add the paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beef is browned, about 10 minutes.
• Drain off the excess grease. Stir in the vinegar. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. Stir in the olives and hard-cooked egg whites.
• If baking the empanadas, preheat the oven to 425°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with vegetable oil.
• When working with empanada disks, always keep all but the disk you're working with covered with a damp towel. If the disks are very firm, place them one at a time on a lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll them to 1/2 to 1 inch larger than they are to make them a little more pliable.
• To fill, lay an empanada disk on the work surface. Place about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center of the dough disk. Tuck a cube of cheese into the center of the filling. Use your finger to wet the edges of the disk with water and fold over to seal. Gently press the tines of a fork along the edge to crimp. Lay the empanada on a baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Repeat with the remaining filling and dough disks.
• Brush the tops of the empanadas with vegetable oil and bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot. If frying the empanadas, fill a skillet 3/4 inch deep with vegetable oil and heat to 360°F. over medium heat. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line 2 baking sheets with paper towels. Fry the empanadas in the oil until golden brown and crisp, 4 to 6 minutes, turning once. Remove with tongs, letting excess oil drip back into the pan, and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Keep warm in the oven while you fry the remaining empanadas. Serve hot.