I found a yummy empanada video recipe on Youtube and adjusted it a little. Instead of deepfrying them I baked them in the oven. I served them with salsa salad and hot sauce.
Dough:
2 1/4 cup white flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
113 gr cold butter
1/3 cup cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten with a fork
Filling:
450 gr ground beef
1/2 small onion, finely diced
1/2 green pepper, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
1/4 cup beef or vegetable broth (I use a cube and dissolve it in water)
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 packet (about 1 tbsp) sazon goya spice – you can also use any mexican/taco spice instead
a little bit of dried chili flakes
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
1/2 cup tomato sauce – I used crushed tomatoes from a can
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Shredded cheese to put over the filling
Hot sauce to serve
—————————–
Dough:
Put flour and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the cold butter (important that it’s cold) in small portions and pulse a few times. Add the water and pulse a few times. Finally add the egg and let the food processor run for about a minute or until the dough comes together.
Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the tabletop and knead a little. Put the dough in a plastic wrap and cool in the fridge for about an hour.
Filling:
Heat oil on a pan over medium heat and fry the ground beef until it starts to brown. Sieve to remove the excess liquid and put aside.
Fry the onion, garlic and pepper for a few minutes and then add the ground beef back on the pan.
Add the broth, tomato paste, spices, tomato sauce, water and cranberries and stir well. Let it simmer on medium-low heat for about 25 minutes. Stire every now and then.
In the meantime roll the dough and preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Sprinkle a little bit of flour on the tabletop and roll the dough very thinly. You can use a small bowl or the lid of a big yogurt container to make a neat circle. Roll them a little bit more to get them even thinner.
Have a little bowl of water on the side and dip your fingers in and put on the edges of the empanada before closing so they will stick better together.
Put about 2 tbsp of filling in each empanada and a little bit of shredded cheese over. Close the empanada. Use a fork to close them better and make a little pattern on the edges.
Bake in the middle of the oven at 200°C (400°F) for about 25 minutes or until they become lightly browned.
