Beef and Pine Nut Empanadas

By NickiR

The secret to a good empanada is to roll the dough thin, and have a good ratio of filling to pastry. Freezes well.

Ingredients

• DOUGH:
• 3 cups plus 2 Tbsp. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
• 1/2 cup ice water, plus more if needed
• FILLING:
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 cup onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. garlic, finely chopped
• 4 Tbsp. jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 13 ounces (385 gm) lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 1/3 cup mozzarella, grated
• 1 Tbsp. milk
• 1 egg

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 90mins
Cooking time 110mins

Preparation

Step 1

Dough:

Place flour and salt in food processor, pulse to blend.

Add the shortening and butter and pulse on high speed until the mixture resembles a coarse meal and the butter is still in pea-sized pieces.

Pulsing the processor on high speed, add the water, along with 1 or 2 Tbsp. as needed. Use a fork to mix the flour in the processor, bringing up the pieces from the bottom of the bowl. This will give a clear indication of how much more water is needed, if any.

Empty flour mixture onto floured surface and divide in half; gently roll into 2 balls. Flatten each ball into a 5-inch disc, wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

In the meantime, prepare the filling.

Filling:

In a medium sauté pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno and sauté for 4 minutes. Add cinnamon, cumin and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add salt, beef and water, cover and cook until meat is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Take off lid and continue to cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Set mixture aside in medium bowl; when slightly cooled, stir in pine nuts and cheese.

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

With a fork, beat milk and egg together. On a floured surface, roll out 1 disc of dough very thinly (about 2 mm.). Using a four-inch cookie cutter, cut as many circles as possible from the dough. Gather up pastry trimmings, wrap with plastic wrap and return to fridge. Using a pastry brush, brush the edges of all the circles with the egg mixture. Place a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the centre of the circle and fold circles in half to enclose the mixture. Crimp edges with a fork to seal, place on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with additional egg mixture. Repeat process with second disc.

Gather up all trimmings and repeat, ensuring not to roll the dough too much.

Once all empanadas and filled and brushed with egg mixture, place in 400* oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with apricot salsa.