empanadas are great for brunch – in fact i made them for the first time to appear on a brunch buffet. so i am submitting this recipe to zorra’s brunch blog event:

the empanadas require a bit of work, but can be prepared well in advance, baked and stored in the freezer. on the day of use they should be thawed for one to two hours, then sprinkled with a bit water and baked at 175° for about 10 minutes. for dipping, i made chimmichurri sauce and tomato sauce (adapted from here).

for this version i used the dough from the original empanadas mendocinas recipe, but the filling was the same as last time i made them.  the dough was very nice, way easier to handle than my first try and with a better texture after baking.

ingredients:

dough

• 360g flour
• 110g butter
• 1 egg yolk
• 180 – 200 ml warm milk
• 1/2 tsp salt

filling

• 500g ground beef
• 2 large onions, diced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt, pepper to taste
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 10 green olives, quartered
• 20g raisins, soaked in hot water
• 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced

other

• 1 egg, white and yolk separated

in a large bowl, mix flour and salt. using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dough. add egg yolk, then milk in small amounts, knead until the dough comes together. make a flat ball and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

in a large bowl, mix paprika, oregano, cumin, chili flakes, salt and pepper. add ground beef and knead until well combined. chill in the refrigerator until use.

melt the butter in a large pan and cook onions until tender, about 10 minutes. add meat mixture and cook until the beef is done, stirring frequently. let the mixture cool down a bit, add parsley, raisins, olives and chopped green onions and mix well.

on a lightly floured board roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round shapes. i used a cup of 10cm diameter and got 28 empanadas.

add a spoonful of meat mixture on each disc and a slice of boiled egg. brush the edges of the empanada with egg white (i used my fingers for that), fold the empanada disc and seal. twist and fold the edges for a repulgue, or use a fork to finish sealing.

brush with whisked egg yolk and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.

note: the filling is a bit to much for the dough – i think 3/4 of it could do as well. but since it is so delicious i keep making the full amount, and then use leftovers e.g. on frozen puff pastry.