Empanadas originally come from Galicia, the northwest of Spain. There they are largely filled with seafood, in other countries not only the ingredients but also the appearance vary: In Latin America, for example, the crescent-shaped dumplings are best eaten with beef or chicken, ham and cheese or vegetables. And the original recipe from Argentina is also very popular in Germany – which is mainly due to one main ingredient: minced meat. Find out here what else you need for the coveted party snack in order to create delicious empanadas.
Step 1: Weigh out the types of flour and pour them both together into a bowl. Make a well in the middle into which you add the remaining ingredients (except for the water and an egg) for the dough. Then mix all the ingredients together – preferably with your hands – and keep adding a little water until you have a flexible dough that no longer sticks to your fingers. Before you process it further, it should rest in a cool place for a few hours.
Step 2: Cut the onion, pepper and chili pepper into fine cubes and fry them together with the minced meat and oil in a coated pan. Now season the mixture with the spices (salt, pepper, cumin, paprika powder) to your own taste. Only then cut the tomatoes into small pieces and stir them into the minced meat – this way the filling stays nice and juicy and doesn’t dry out. Let the filling cool down a little, in the meantime you can chop the olives (whether black or green is up to you), raisins and eggs and then stir them into the cooled minced meat mixture.
Step 3: Now it’s the turn of the dough. Roll it out flat on a floured work surface and cut out circular shapes – these molds can help with this. The diameter is usually ten to 15 centimeters, but you can vary the sizes depending on your mood. The dough circles are then placed into a suitable dumpling maker and half filled before the empanadas get their typical shape. Alternatively, you can fold the dough over by hand and press the edge with a fork to create a fine pattern, or twist the edge finely (as shown in the photo). To make the edges stick together better, you can brush them with a little egg white beforehand. Finally, the dumplings are brushed with egg yolk so that they get a nice color when baking.
Step 4: Now you can place the finished dumplings on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake them in the oven at 200 degrees for approx. 15 to 20 minutes. Depending on how thick your dough is, the baking time can vary – for this reason, you should watch the empanadas and remove them from the oven when they are golden brown. Then let the bags cool down a bit before enjoying them while they are still warm. Tomato salsa goes best with this.
To prepare the salsa you will need 500 grams of tomatoes, two red onions, two cloves of garlic, a chili pepper, a little salt and pepper, the juice of a lime, five tablespoons, five tablespoons of olive oil and a bunch of parsley. Proceed as follows:
For this slightly spicier dip you need half a bunch of spring onions and half a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, four cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of oregano (dried), a teaspoon of herbal vinegar, a teaspoon of lemon juice, 125 milliliters of olive oil, half a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Proceed as follows:
Cut the spring onions as small as possible, the same goes for the garlic and parsley. Only mix the fresh ingredients with the remaining ingredients when the empanadas are ready and taste the chimichurri again before serving. Alternatively, you can also use a ready-made spice mix that is made from natural ingredients (including onion, tomato flakes (tomato paste, corn starch), parsley, chili, garlic, paprika, pepper, oregano, basil) without additives, preservatives or flavor enhancers. This saves you work, and you can also use the chimichurri spices for grilling and marinating.
We wish you a good appetite!
One more tip at the end: And if you’re now even more in the mood for empanadas, you’ll find many more recipes for savory and sweet dumplings from Latin America in this book by food blogger Nileen Marie Schaldach – including numerous dip suggestions. How about, for example, a chili cheese, spinach feta or chicken fajita filling? Alternatively, you can try sweet empanadas with a cherry nougat or apple filling.
