Empanada Argentina

 Empanada Argentina

Prep time :20 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients :

For the filling:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• white onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• ½ of a bell pepper, diced 
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• sweet paprika
• oregano leaves, optional
• lean ground beêf
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bunch green onions, just the green part, finely chopped 
• chopped green olives 
• fresh chopped parsley
• 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped

For the dough:* (makes about 20 regular size empanadas)

• 4 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature | 1 egg, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons oil
•  ¾ - 1 cup warm water
• Egg wash ( 1 egg mixed with 1 Tbsp water)

Instructions :

For the filling:

1. Add garlic and diced red pepper. 
2. Cook for another some minutes, stirring often. Add chili powder, sweet paprika. Cook for 2 minutes.
3. Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef.
4. Season with salt and pepper and cook, crumbling into small pieces, until browned. Stir in salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat and transfer mixture to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes. Then, stir in green onion, olives, parsley, and hard-boiled eggs.

For the empanada dough:

1. Add flour and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine. Add egg and butter and stir well to combine. Add oil and warm water and stir until the mixture starts to come together into a dough ball. Add more water if it's too dry.
2. Place dough in clean greased bowl and cover tightly. Allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour. (Or, refrigerate for up to 1 day, removing from the fridge 20 minutes before using.)

Assembly:

1. Divide the dough into two pieces. On a greased countertop roll each piece into a very large circle, about 1/8in thick (not so thin that it might break when filling or baking).
2. Use a small bowl or round cookie cutters to cut the dough into circles about in in diameter for regular size empanadas or 3 inch for mini empanadas (empanaditas).
3. Remove the excess dough from around the cut circles and keep the circles where they are for filling them (so they hold their perfect circle shape). Leftover scraps can be re-rolled to make more dough to cut out.
4. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling (for regular size empanadas) in the center of each circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges of the circle with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle.
5. Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding it over.
6. Fried Empanadas: it is best to refrigerate the empanadas for 20 minutes before frying to help the dough firm up and hold its shape before placing in the hot oil. Add several inches of hot oil to a pot and heat to about 365° F. Fry one or two empanadas at a time, flipping once, until golden on both sides (1-2 minutes per side). Place on a paper-towel lined plate.