The empanada is dish found is most of Latin America but has its origins in Europe. They resemble small Cornish Pasties, and Cornwall is the birthplace of the Mexican paste, as it was brought over by miners and construction workers from Cornwall. For the rest of Latin America which was conquered by Spain the empanada has its origins in Galicia, where it can first be found in a cookbook of 1520. The small pastry's can be found filled with meat, chicken, cheese, potatoes, in some countries such as Colombia they are made with corn flour and then fried, and in others such as Argentina they are made with a wheat flour pastry and then either baked or fried. They are then served with a sauce which can range from a hot sauce made with lime, chilli and coriander, to an olive cream.
Having grown up in Colombia the empanada is one of my favourite appetisers or snacks. It is popular street food and bar food and comes in many variations, the mince meat and potato being my favourite. But I must admit that I also have a soft spot for Argentinian empanadas, and while they also have many variations I love their creole version with mince meat, egg, olives and raisins. The combination might sound a little odd but trust me it's wonderful! It was also incredibly easy to make, specially as I had already learned how to crimp pastry's when I did the Malaysian Kaya Kok.
Tip: My recipe below yields 24 empanadas - but they don't keep very well, so if you live in a small household and can't eat them all in a day I would suggest making half the amount! I cooked all of the meat filling but I only made half the dough and then turned the remaining meat into a chilli con carne by adding more spices, chopped tomatoes, beans and beef stock!
Makes 24 empanadas
Ingredients
For the filling
60 g of Lard or butter
3 large white onions chopped finely
1 bell pepper chopped finely
500 g of lean minced beaf
1 heaped tbsp of Oregano
1 tsp of Cumin
1 tsp of Red Chili Pepper or chilli powder
1 tbsp Sweet Paprika
2 Tsp of Salt
4 eggs hard boiled
12 green olives cut into around 3 pieces each
a small handful of raisins (around 3 per empanada)
Note: The quantity of herbs and spices will vary slightly depending on the quality and how long they've been sitting in your cupboard - make sure you taste and adjust.
For the Dough
500 g of plain flour
100 g of Lard (you can substitute for softened butter)
1 heaped tsp of salt
200-250ml of warm water
1 egg beaten (for egg wash)
Method
In a large frying pan on low-medium heat add the lard or butter. Once melted add the onion and bell pepper. Cook on a low heat for around 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally. The end product should be translucent and should not have acquired much colour.
While the onions and peppers are cooking make your dough. In a large bowl mix all of the dough ingredients with your hands until a dough forms, you may need to work it for a few minutes until the warm water melts the lard or butter.
Turn it onto a floured surface and knead for a minute or two until the dough it smooth. Cover and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
While the dough is resting add the minced meat to your onions and peppers along with the spices and salt . Fry until the meat is cooked through (around 5-6 minutes). If the mixture looks dry you can add a little water or stock. It should be a sauceless mixture but not dry.
Cut the eggs into medium pieces (each egg into 8ths or so), and sprinkle over the meat along with the olives and raisins.
Pre-heat the oven to 200C or 400F and line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.
Divide the rested dough into 24 balls of equal size and roll into thin disks - around 13cm in diameter.
Fill each disk with around 2tbsp of mince meat filling and press the edges to seal - the edge should be around 7mm to 1cm thick.
Then crimp the edges and place on a baking tray, you should be able to fit around 12 on each tray.
Egg wash the empanadas and bake for 2 minutes until lightly golden.
Once baked cool them slightly on a cooling rack and serve with your sauce of choice!
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