Tasty Empanadas

Grandma Pearl’s Amazing Empanadas

Ingredients

• 2 tbsps olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsps cumin
• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef (we like chuck)
• 1 tbsps flour
• 3/4 c pimento stuffed green olives , chopped
• 1/2 c raisins (you can omit if you don't like raisins but this really makes them special)
• salt and pepper to taste (go easy on the salt because the olives are salty)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• 24 empanada wrappers, thawed (I prefer Goya)
• 5 cups vegetable oil for frying (grandma uses Crisco and I am sure lard if it were still easy to find)

Method:

Preheat a large frying pan with olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 8 minutes or until slightly soft.
Stir in ground beef and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up lumps. Cook until beef is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Sprinkle in flour to absorb excess oil. Allow mixture to cool for about 15 minutes.
Stir in the olives, raisins, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and chopped eggs.
Sprinkle a little flour on your counter and spread out a few empanada wrappers. Place a tablespoon of the beef mixture into the center of each disk. Moisten edges of each disk with a tiny bit of water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp closed with a fork. Keep going until you have used up all of your wrappers.
Heat vegetable oil in a deep 12-inch skillet or stockpot over medium heat until it registers 360°F on thermometer. Fry empanadas, 3 at a time, turning once, until crisp and golden, 6 minutes per batch. Transfer the cooked empanadas to a baking sheet to keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you fry the remaining empanadas.

Swap Out:

If your not a meat-eater, she also taught me an amazing swap-out, using canned tuna. Simply, drain 2 cans of tuna (she used water packed) and toss it in with the rest of the ingredients listed below.

Technique:

When crimping edges, dip the tines of your fork in flour to prevent sticking.

Lighten Up:

If you are not a fan of deep frying, no problem! Brush each empanada with an egg wash, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20minutes.

Low Tech:

Don't have a frying thermometer? Simply drop a small piece of the un-cooked empanada wrapper into the oil. If it sizzles, you know the oil is hot enough. If it sinks, your oil is still too cold.




Posted by: Georgie

By Christina Stanley-Salerno of
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