Empanadas Salteñas

By garciamoss

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 pound steak, cut in small dice
• 1 large potato, peeled and cut in small dice
• 1/4 cup beef stock or water
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 12 green olives, pitted and sliced
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 1/2 packages empanada wrappers, or make your own dough (see below)
• 1 whole egg, beaten

Details

Adapted from hispanickitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

• Heat oil; add onions and cook until transparent. Add cumin and paprika; fry 1 minute.
• Incorporate meat; cook for 5 minutes.
• Add potatoes and stock; cook until tender, then add raisins. Add salt and crushed red chili; mix well. Remove from heat; cool.
• Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in center of dough. Add 1 olive and ¼ hard-boiled egg. Wet half of dough circle and fold over, pressing to release any air.
• Fold edges to seal. Brush with egg wash and bake at 350F for 12 minutes until golden.



Tips When Preparing the Stuffing:
• Be sure to use a very sharp knife to hand cut the beef. Remove all sinew, excess fat, and fibers before cutting.
• Cut the beef and potato cubes the same size so that they cook uniformly.
• Using beef stock rather than water gives the filling a richer flavor. Use canned stock or bouillon.
• For best results, chill the mixture overnight and stuff and bake the empanadas the next day.

Tips to Fill & Bake
• Empanadas should be chock- full of filling, but don’t over- stuff. Use enough to be able to easily close the seams.
• Wet only half of the dough circle. The water will form a tight seal for the pastry. Hold the pastry in your hand then gently press the air out.
• When folding the empanada, imagine you are twisting a rope to make the decorative edge.
• When eating empanadas straight from the oven, let sit 5-10 minutes to cool down. Be careful not to burn your mouth with steam that escapes from the pockets.
Homemade Dough: You can easily make dough for 2½ dozen empanadas instead of buying shells. Combine 1-pound all-purpose flour, 3 tablespoons lard (or shortening), and 1 to 1½ cups lukewarm water with 1 teaspoon diluted salt. In a bowl, add the melted fat to the flour and stir. Add 1 cup water and bring together to form a dough ball; knead until soft. Pull dough off into walnut-size balls. Roll out into circles, sprinkling with flour.