My husband lived in Argentina for 2 years and loved the food there. His favorite thing to eat from there are Beef Empanadas. They are actually really good, we have made them quite a few times! They have a nice crunchy, yet flaky crust. You can really fill them with anything, however, this is his absolute favorite:
Ingredients
For the dough:
2 1/4 cups AP Flour
3/4 teaspoons Salt
1/4 cup Shortening
1/2 cup + 1/8 cups Water
For the filling:
1 pound Ground Beef
3 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
2 Potatoes (medium size), cubed
2/3 cup onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 1/4 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 cup Corn
Oil (for frying)
Special Equipment
Dough Press (see here) Also sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond
Directions
In your food processor, put in your flour and salt. Mix together. Then put in your shortening in clumps into the flour mixture. Pulse the food processor until everything fully mixes. It will be coarse crumbs. Through the shoot, pour in your water (a little bit at a time) while it is mixing in your food processor. Once the dough forms into a ball, take it out and knead it by hand for just a minute. Roll it into a ball and flatten it slightly. Cover with saran wrap and put in the fridge for an hour.
While the dough is chilling, start boiling 2 pots of water. Peel your potatoes. Then cube them. You want them in small (and I mean small) cubes. I cut mine to about 1/4 inch cubes. Put them into one of the pots of boiling water. You only need to cook them for maybe 5-10 minutes. Until the are a little soft, but do not fall apart.
While the potatoes are cooking, boil your eggs until cooked. Peel of the shell and dice up your eggs to small pieces.
Dice up your onions. Place them in a large skillet over medium heat. With the onions inside the pan, brown up your ground beef and season with the salt, pepper, and cumin. Once browned, mix in your corn, eggs, and potatoes.
Place your empanadas in the fridge to cool to room temperature.
Take about 1 1/2 inch balls of dough and roll them flat into a circle. You want to roll it almost paper thin. Just about the thinest you can get it without it falling apart. Do this for the remaining dough.
Place your dough flat on the open dough press (I used the second smallest size in the dough press set). Place some filling inside the center of the dough and press it shut the the press. Press very hard and rip off the excess dough. Do this with your remaining dough.
Heat some oil in a pan about 2 inches deep to 365 degress. Fry your empanadas until brown.
You can either eat them plain or dip them in something. I like ranch!
