Empanadas: Classic Argentinian deliciousness

This week's recipe is from a cookbook that belonged to the Bearded Argentinian's Grandma in Buenos Aires. La Cocina de Lorenzo Taberna, was published in 1961 and is so well used that the cover has completely faded. As with many 60s cookbooks there are no photos, only a few drawings, and in this edition the dishes are organised in alphabetical order. I have to admit, I needed a bit of help with the translating!

Empanadas look like mini Cornish pasties but are much lighter and more flavoursome. They're most commonly filled with a beef mixture, but can also contain ham, tuna, chicken, cheese, spinach and/or onion. Empanadas with different fillings are finished with a different pattern, so you can identify them without biting in (thus spoiling the fun of "accidentally" biting into several before finding the one you wanted...).

The recipe in Grandma's book includes making the pastry, but it's quite fiddly thin pastry and you can get hold of pre-prepared empanada sheets online or in Garcia's Spanish deli in Notting Hill. Empanadas can be baked or fried, so make sure you pick the right pastry sheets. All the other ingredients are easy to get hold of so get a couple of packs of pastries and freeze one!

And for the recipe skippers, it's worth getting to the end of this one for the hugely appropriate serving board... 

Ingredients

(Makes 16 empanadas)

2 onions, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

400g beef mince

2 tsp dried oregano

3 tsp paprika (and chilli flakes or Tabasco if you like extra spice)

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

2 tbsp green olives

1 packet of empanada pastries (Horno = suitable for oven cooking)

Method

1. To make the filling, sautée the onions in a little olive oil until soft, then add the chopped pepper and cook for a few more minutes.

2. Add the mince and brown.

3. Mix in the herbs and spices, garlic and olives and cook for about 10 minutes, then add the eggs. If it seems a bit dry, add some passata - it should be a little juicy but not watery. Leave to cool.

4. To make the pastries, put 2-3 teaspoons of filling onto one half of an empanada pastry sheet and fold over to form a semi circle. Moisten the edges with water and press together, then twist the edge inwards, using your thumb to fold the edge up, to make a rope pattern and seal in the filling (I let the Bearded Argentinian do this bit and didn't get a good photo...)

5. Arrange in a baking sheet and glaze with beaten egg. Cook at 180C for 20-25 minutes until the empanadas are golden brown.

Enjoy hot or cold, as a starter or a snack. They go really well with chimichurri, a garlic, parsley and chilli sauce, and a cold beer. The meat filling with the tang of olives and crunch of peppers also makes a great pasta sauce or an interesting alternative cottage pie base.