Freshly-made beef empanadas
Modifications:
For the dough: margarine in place of butter, and only a pinch of salt.
For the filling: I added 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, an extra 1/2 tsp of oregano, 1 extra garlic clove, 2 strips of red pepper (diced), 1/3 of a celery stalk, and 2 mushrooms. I omitted the olives and decided against trying to replace them with capers (turns out capers are only a minuscule more tasty than olives). I also used regular lean ground beef.
Preparation: I went all out this week, making both the dough and filling. The former was to avoid butter (reviewers wrote they used olive oil and margarine successfully). I must say, I was not looking forward to making the dough. I used to turn out pie crusts with no problem, but the last few times have been a train wreck. Plus, I'm not much of a pastry dough person in general, whether in desserts or main meals, EXCEPT for the soft spot I have for samosas (the Fredericton Farmers' Market samosas in particular). So, I had pretty low expectations in making the dough. It only took a couple of minutes, though, and the addition of vinegar intrigued me. I chilled it for four hours.
When it came time for cooking, I enlisted help for rolling out the dough. It turns out you have to roll it really, really thin (until you can just see through it). We had three pieces of saran wrap to help with this. We put half the dough aside (so we didn't have to work with too much at once) and then put half in between two pieces of wrap (it was really sticky). We used the rolling pin on top of the wrap. Once the dough was thin enough, we cut large circles out and, one at a time, laid them on a single piece of saran wrap where the filling was added and then the wrap was used to flip half of the dough over and seal it up.
When it came time for cooking, I enlisted help for rolling out the dough. It turns out you have to roll it really, really thin (until you can just see through it). We had three pieces of saran wrap to help with this. We put half the dough aside (so we didn't have to work with too much at once) and then put half in between two pieces of wrap (it was really sticky). We used the rolling pin on top of the wrap. Once the dough was thin enough, we cut large circles out and, one at a time, laid them on a single piece of saran wrap where the filling was added and then the wrap was used to flip half of the dough over and seal it up. The beef filling was a piece of cake. It was too difficult to cut the eggs thin enough to get 10 slices out of one, however. I was able to get 6-7 slices.
Verdict: Yummy! It was a good thing I made the full batch because we both wanted seconds last night and lunches today! I think they could become good comfort food. They cut surprisingly well, without crumbling or falling apart. I had fun eating one with my hands :-) The thin dough was key for me and I was pleased with how it turned out. The raisins were SO good and the cinnamon really added a great flavour. One of the nice things about this recipe was that it didn't require any out-of-the-ordinary ingredients or fresh produce that I don't usually have on hand. I didn't find the egg slices added much to the empanadas, but maybe that's because I only had enough for one slice in each. I would leave them out next time.
I would make this recipe again, but probably with a tiny bit of dread about how long it takes to roll the dough out, cut it and fill it. I'm also sure it would go faster now that I know what I'm doing, so that should help. These would make an excellent contribution to a pot-luck. Smaller versions would be a good appetizer too.
I would make this recipe again, but probably with a tiny bit of dread about how long it takes to roll the dough out, cut it and fill it. I'm also sure it would go faster now that I know what I'm doing, so that should help. These would make an excellent contribution to a pot-luck. Smaller versions would be a good appetizer too.
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