HOMEMADE BEEF EMPANADAS

Homemade Beef Empanadas image

These baked empanadas have a nice flaky crust and are filled with seasoned beef, tomatoes and onions. They freeze great, too. Plan in advance because the dough should have time to chill before rolling out.

Provided by PanNan

Categories Cuban

Time 1h45m

Yield 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup tomato puree or 1/3 cup tomato sauce
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold and chopped into small pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup ice water

Steps:

First, make the empanada dough so it has time to chill. Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingertips and work together until mixture resembles cornmeal - no big lumps of butter anywhere. Add the egg and the ice water and mix until dough forms. Form dough into large flat ball, wrap in plastic wrap and set in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
While your dough is chilling, make your filling. Heat a pan over medium heat and add your oil. When hot, add the onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, until onion has softened. Add ground beef and cook for another 5 minutes or so, until beef is done. You may drain any extra fat here or leave it in before going on to the next step {I chose to drain the extra fat}.
Add the cumin, paprika, oregano and salt to the beef mixture, as well as the tomato sauce or puree. Mix well so all is combined then take off the stove and add the chopped hard boiled egg. Stir well and set aside for use in your empanadas.
After dough has chilled, remove from the fridge. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out empanada dough onto a lightly floured surface until very thin - like pie dough. Cut circles out of the dough using the back of a bowl or a large biscuit cutter. My circles ended up being about 6″.
Place the circles on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and scoop a small amount of beef filling into the center of each circle. Pinch dough closed with your fingers. Be sure to seal the dough well or else it will leak out while it bakes!
Mix one egg with a small splash of water. Brush this over sealed empanadas and place in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes for small empanadas or 30-35 minutes for large ones. Mine took about 32 minutes.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 446.6, Fat 25.7, SaturatedFat 12.7, Cholesterol 128.5, Sodium 928.3, Carbohydrate 38.8, Fiber 1.9, Sugar 1.4, Protein 14.7