Argentinian Empanadas
Empanadas are a staple in cultura latina. There are many varieties but a recipe for specifically Argentinian empanadas is difficult to find – especially in English and out of the metric system. Often served as an appetizer, empanadas are hearty little handpies that can suffice as a meal alone and their flexible filling options (savory or sweet) make them perfect for just about any occasion. Make them in bulk and stick them in the freezer for quick weeknight meals, snacks, or lazy Sundays. So here is the elusive no-one-writes-this-shit-down family recipe.
what you need
1-1 1/2 pounds “vacio” (skirt steak, flank steak, fajita meat)
2 Spanish or yellow onions
1 red bell pepper
~1/2 cup green onions
3 eggs, hard boiled and peeled
2 packages (24 total) frozen empanada “masas” (dough rounds)
3 tablespoons butter or shortening
1 packet of “Condimento para Empanadas” (25g/~1oz)
Extra cumin and paprika to taste
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Salt to taste
(optional) 1/2 cup green olives, minced
(optional variation) 1/2 cup raisins + 1 tablespoon sugar
Notes on non-traditional ingredients: If you don’t have a good latin grocery nearby, not to worry. There are workarounds.
For the dough rounds, no, I do not make my own, opting instead for the La Salteña Hojaldrada empanada dough. Most Targets carry it. You can use just about any frozen empanada dough, though my preference is that it be some form of “hojaldre” or “puff pastry.” It makes the empanadas flakier whereas many Central American empanadas are made with more traditional textured and sweeter dough.
If you can’t find the pre-mixed Alicante brand Condimento para Empanadas spices, you can easily make it yourself! The mix contains: sweet Hungarian paprika (“pimenton”), nutmeg, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and crushed chili peppers. Double up on the sweet paprika. Note that traditional empanadas are not spicy so you always want to use sweet pepper varietals, not spicy ones (though you could go ahead and make them spicy if that’s your thing…).
how to make it
Pre-heat oven to 400 and set dough rounds out well in advance to come to room temperature. If the dough is still frozen, it will not fold well, but be careful not to let it get too warm as it will tear and be sticky.
Prepare the meat. Assuming the cut of meat you have purchased is thin, you should be able to roll it tightly two or three times over in a cylindrical shape. Slice thin rolls off the end of the cylinder with a sharp knife, going back over the meat to thinly dice any long strings or chunks. You are aiming for 1/8″ chunks of meat. This may seem a little annoying when ground beef is readily available, but much of the empanada’s flavor comes from the type of meat used.
Prepare the vegetables. Hard boil, cool, and dice two eggs and set aside in a small bowl. Finely dice the bell peppers, onion, and green onion.
Cook. Brown all meat in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell peppers, and cook over medium heat until onions become translucent. Add the spice packet, salt, butter or shortening, and olives (if using), mixing well. Cook another ~10 minutes. Turn off the stove but leave the mixture on the heat, mixing in the green onions as the final step. The mixture should be well combined with just a little excess juice from the butter+spices. Taste to adjust spice content, noting that the spices and salt will intensify over time, especially if freezing.
Roll. Now open up your dough rounds and get ready. You’re also going to want to have a small bowl of room temperature water on hand. Take a dough round off the top and hold it flat in your left hand. With your right hand, spoon ~2 tablespoons of the meat mixture into the middle of the dough, careful not to overfill. Place 2-3 small pieces of egg on top.
Quickly dip your finger in water and trace the inside edge of the dough round. With your right hand, pull the bottom half of the dough up over the top half to form a half moon as shown in the video. Then pinch both sides of the half moon together all the way around. You should now be holding a half moon shape in your left hand with the straight edge on the bottom near your wrist.
Starting at the bottom right, take the corner of the pinched dough and fold it up using your right pointer finger and thumb, pinching to seal. Repeat this all around the crest of the half moon. You can form tighter or looser folds depending on the aesthetic you want. The last fold will produce a little tail of dough, which you should tuck under to the backside of the half moon, pinching well to seal in the filling.
If the dough is tearing or becoming sticky, place it in the fridge for half an hour or the freezer for 10 minutes to cool back down.
Bake. When all the empanadas are folded, lay them out on a baking sheet on tinfoil and brush the tops with a beaten egg wash (not necessary but it makes them extra shiny and browned). Bake on 400 for 20 minutes or until golden and serve hot.
If you want to make your empanadas in bulk as I do (3-4 dozen at a time), you will want to store them in an airtight container in the freezer separated by parchment paper. If not separated, the dough will stick together and chip when broken apart, leaving holes in your empanadas.
Variations! Empanadas come in many shapes and sizes, with some Central American empanadas containing ingredients such as potatoes and peas. The recipe above is for traditional Argentinian empanadas, often called “salada” (salty), “picante” (spicy), or “salteñas” (originally from Salta). They are the traditional counterpart to the “dulces” (sweet) which are made without egg or olive, and with raisins and sugar (I know it sounds odd, but they are REALLY good). I frequently separate out some of the mixture after adding the spices, and add in the raisins and sugar to make both types at once.
Other variations include: “jamón y queso” (ham and a soft, white cheese), “humita” or “choclo” (corn, red pepper, green onion, and soft white cheese), “roquefort” (blue cheese), and “árabes” (arab empanadas are triangular in shape, made with more common dough than puff pastry, and contain ground beef, red bell pepper, and a lot of paprika; they are eaten by biting off the top triangular corner and squeezing the juice of a lemon wedge down into the empanada).
Then, of course, this recipe can be used to make Pumpkin Pasties! The pumpkin-filled sweet pasties are best served with a side of freshly whipped cream.
I spent a good portion of my adolescent and young adult life in Argentina – specifically, Córdoba. Situated in the middle of the country considerably north of the capital, Buenos Aires, and slightly east of the Andes mountains. Those mountains not only divide Argentina and Chile, but they also host the tallest mountain in the Americas “Aconcagua” and serve as the breeding grounds for both Argentina and Chile’s most coveted wines.
As a child, I attended school and spent the weekends riding horses with my parents in the Argentinian countryside. At some point, my father taught me to play cards and pool (we had a Gin Rummy game that lasted over a decade). I picked up the language, developed a love of red wine and red meat, and internalized a lot of the musical history. From these experiences, though, came two very important things: patriotism and curiosity. The first, an unwavering appreciation for the United States – with all the freedom, variety, and opportunity it provides for its citizens. The second, an uncontained hunger – call it a lust – for the “otherness;” to me, the “extranjero.”
These early years set the tone for 30+ countries in travels throughout my late teens and twenties. It is the reason this food blog is filled with curries, dahls, böreği, tagines, and couscous, alongside the more familiar lasagna, chocolate chip cookies, and chili. But it is also part of the reason why this blog is predominantly local.
Argentina will always be a special place for me. Half of my childhood occurred there – half of my growing up and half of my cooking experimentations (let’s talk about the time I made four dozen chocolate chip cookies with furniture polish in lieu of cooking spray because I couldn’t read the label… or the time I made an entire lasagna with ground coconut instead of parmesan cheese). Argentina gave me a lot of knowledge, a lot of exploration, a lot of friendship, and a lot of drive – but it also gave me an undying love of travel along with the undying love of my own soil. Thank you to my nephew who, at the wise age of 20, visited this past summer and taught me to cook the taste of my childhood – the elusive no-one-writes-this-shit-down family recipe.