Beef Empanada

I have been meaning to make Beef Empanadas like forever. I was always intrigued by the flaky crust and the savory yummy filling and wanted to recreate my own version at home. I have tried Chicken and Beef empanadas and have been partial to the Beef ones. 

I read a few recipes and saw some videos. Essentially every recipe I saw had the same ingredients and lots of love. So, with all that knowlege, I set foot in my kitchen today and made these crispy, flaky, yummy goodies. 

Ingredients

For the filling

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped bell pepper (I used 1/2 green and 1/2 red)

4 cloves garlic - chopped

1 tomato - chopped

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp roasted ground cumin

salt to taste

For the crust 

2 cups flour

4 TBS butter (melted)

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup water (more  if needed - 1 TBS at a time)

Vegetable Oil to fry Empanadas

Method

Add the ingredients for the crust and knead into a soft pliable dough. It should be soft to touch but not sticky. Acover it with a cloth and let it sit for 1 hour. 

In a saucepan add the ground beef and let it cook for 15 minutes - stir it occasionally. Once it has changed colot and you see oil/fat on the sides - use a slotted spoon and remove the beef onto a plate. Leave the oil/fat in the saucepan. To this add the onions, peppers and garlic and let it sweat for 5 minutes. Add the tomato and the spices and salt and mix well. cook for about 5 to 7 minutes till you see oil seperating on the sides of the pan. Now add the beef and mix well. Cover and let this cook for 15 minutes. Stir it once in the middle. Remove from heat and let it cool.

Take the dough and make 16 small portions and make them into round smooth circles. Using a rolling pin roll it into a flat round tortilla - not too thin nor too thick, about 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Carefully add a tablespoon of filling in the middle and use one end to close the empanada and make into a half moon. Use a fork to seal the ends. You can very well you a mold to do this too - I have a mold, but could not find one - so went old school. make all the 16 of them and lay them on a cookie sheet in a single file and refegirate for 15 minutes. Heat oil in a wok - bring the flame to a medium high. Now add one or two empanadas at a time - depending on how big your wok is. Fry it till its nice golden brown. Drian on a paper towel and savor with some salsa, sour cream, guacamole or good old ketchup.