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Empanadas - S. American

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Submitted by klinik

South American empanadas with a lard pastry and two filling options: spiced fruit dessert or savory beef carne in tomato sauce. Bake, fry, or grill.

YIELD

6 servings

PREP

40 min

COOK

50 min

READY

90 min

These empanadas come straight from the South American kitchen tradition, where the same pastry covers both dessert and main course versions. Two filling options come with this recipe: a sweet spiced fruit filling, and a savory beef carne in tomato sauce. The dough handles both equally.

The dough is essentially pie crust: flour, salt, shortening or lard, water. Lard is the traditional choice and produces a flakier, more tender pastry than shortening. Cut to pea-sized pieces, just enough water to bring it together, roll thin, cut into circles, and stack with flour between each.

The carne filling has a fascinating note from the original recipe: in South America, the savory base is cooked continuously and added to over months, like a perpetual stew. Each batch develops a complexity that’s impossible to recreate in a single 20-minute cook. Worth knowing even if you can’t replicate it.

For the dessert version, pumpkin gets a special call-out from the recipe writer. Just about any fruit works, but pumpkin with cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg is the South American Christmas classic.

Cooking methods are wide open: bake at 350°F (175°C) until brown, deep fry, pan fry, or grill. Wrap in banana or corn husks for the most traditional version.

Chef Tips

  • Use lard if you can find it. The flavor and flakiness are markedly better than shortening.
  • Press the edges firmly with a fork. Loose seals mean exploding empanadas in the oven or fryer.
  • Brush with egg wash before baking for a glossy finish.
  • Don’t overfill. A heaping spoonful is the max. Overfilled empanadas burst at the seams.

Variations

  • Stuff with shredded cooked chicken in the same tomato sauce for a lighter version.
  • Use thinly sliced banana, brown sugar, and a sprinkle of cinnamon for a quick tropical dessert empanada.
  • Try a savory black bean and cheese filling for vegetarian eaters.

Ingredients

Dough
2 473
158
CUP ML VEGETABLE SHORTENING
or lard *
½ 2.5
TEASPOON ML SALT
6 90
TABLESPOONS ML WATER
Dessert fruit
2 ½ 591
CUPS ML FRUIT *
1 5
TEASPOON ML CINNAMON
1 237
CUP ML SUGAR
½ 2.5
TEASPOON ML NUTMEG
Carne (any meat)
1 1
EACH ONION
1 15
TABLESPOON ML OLIVE OIL
4 115.6
OUNCES ML/G WATER
1
X SALT AND BLACK PEPPER
to taste *
1 1
EACH EACH GREEN BELL PEPPER
8 231.2
OUNCES ML/G TOMATO PASTE
1 15
TABLESPOON ML VINEGAR
1 453.6
POUND G BEEF
sliced thinly

Directions

DOUGH: In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour and salt.

Cut in the shortening or lard until pieces are the size of small peas.

Add a small amount of water to slightly moisten.

Form dough into a ball.

Roll out the dough to about ⅛ thick and cut into 4” circles.

Flour lightly both side of circles and then stack up for later use.

DESSERT FILLING: Just about any kind of fruit or melon may be used.

Combine ingredients and heat to thoroughly mix, coarse chop, so that filling is chunky but bite-sized.

Pumpkins is very good!!

CARNE: Just about any kind of meat may be used, depending on availability.

The sauce seems to be the only fairly consistent thing.

Sauté the onion and green pepper in olive oil.

Add remaining ingredients and cook for 20 minutes.

(In S. A. this is continually cooked and prepared on the back burner, often being used and added to for several months at a time. It developes a flavor all its own.)

Add meat and coat thoroughly with the sauce.

COOKING: Add a large spoonfull of one of the above mixtures to the center of a dough circle.

Place another circle on top. Fasten the two circles together by reeding the edges with a fork.

These may then be baked, at around 350℉ (180℃) F until brown, deep fat fried, fried, cooked or heated on a barbecue.

They may also be wrapped in banana husks, well moistened corn husks, etc.

The object is to heat thoroughly, cooking the meat and browning the outsides so they are dry enough to hold together.

* not incl. in nutrient facts Arrow up button

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Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 270g (9.5 oz)
Amount per Serving
Calories 556 27% from fat
 % Daily Value *
Total Fat 17g 25%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 65mg 22%
Sodium 290mg 12%
Total Carbohydrate 25g 25%
Dietary Fiber 4g 15%
Sugars g
Protein 53g
Vitamin A 15% Vitamin C 45%
Calcium 4% Iron 31%
* based on a 2,000 calorie diet How is this calculated?
Trans-fat Free, Good source of fiber
 

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