Beef Empañadas
Traditional Latin American beef empanadas filled with seasoned ground beef, hard-boiled eggs, raisins, and olives, all wrapped in flaky pastry and fried until golden brown.
Ingredients
- •2 whole hard-boiled large eggs
- •½ medium onion
- •1 tablespoon olive oil
- •1 clove garlic
- •½ teaspoon ground cumin
- •½ teaspoon dried oregano
- •¾ pound ground beef chuck
- •2 tablespoons raisins
- •1½ tablespoons pimiento-stuffed olives
- •1 can whole tomatoes
- •1 package empanada pastry disks
- •4 cups vegetable oil
- •1 piece deep-fat thermometer
Cooking Instructions
- 1.
Cut each egg crosswise into 10 thin slices.
2 min
- 2.
Cook onion in olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened. Add garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in beef and cook, breaking up lumps with a fork, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.
8 min
- 3.
Add raisins, olives, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and tomatoes with reserved juice, then cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced but mixture is still moist, about 5 minutes. Spread on a plate to cool.
5 min
- 4.
Preheat oven to 200°F with rack in middle.
5 min
- 5.
Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a dampened work surface (to help keep plastic in place), then roll out an empanada disk on plastic wrap to measure about 6 inches. Place 3 tablespoons meat mixture on disk and top with 2 slices of egg. Moisten edges of disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp with a fork. Make more empanadas in same manner.
20 min
- 6.
Heat 3/4 inch vegetable oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat until it registers 360°F on thermometer. Fry empanadas, 2 or 3 at a time, turning once, until crisp and golden, 4 to 6 minutes per batch.
25 min
- 7.
Transfer to a shallow baking pan and keep warm in oven. Return oil to 360°F between batches.
15 min
