Empanadas Chilenas

Submitted by Alex Quistberg

Ingredients:
Dough:
8-10 c flour
1-2 eggs, well-beaten
3/4 c shortening
½ c vinegar or white wine
1 c water
1 t salt

Pino filling:
¾ kg ground beef
7 medium sized onions
2-3 garlic teeth
Salt to taste
½ c raisins (if you like)
1 can medium sized olives
4-6 hard boiled eggs cut into 8 slices
2-3 egg yolks
sugar
Recommended spices include cilantro, oregano, pepper, rosemary, paprika

Instructions:
Make the pino the night before, or at least a few hours in advance. Cut the onion into small cubes and fry them in a skillet. Add water occasionally so they don’t burn and stir them occasionally. They should cook for about 45 minutes or until the onion is somewhat translucent. You may want to drain any excess fluid. Fry the ground beef and drain off the fat/grease. Add any spices you like, including the garlic. Add the raisins and stir for about 5 minutes. Mix the onion and meat. Let the mix sit overnight or for a few hours at least.

There are two ways you can make the dough. Any either you can use a large bowl, flat surface, or mixer to bring the ingredients of the dough together.

Put the flour into/onto your mixing place of choice and cut the shortening into it with a knife or a pastry blender. Heat the water and salt, but not quite to boiling and slowly add a 1/4 c or so at time to the flour/shortening crumbs, blending it in with your hands or the mixer. You may not need all the water. A quicker method, though with less flaky crust is to melt the shortening in the water and add that to the dough.

Knead the dough with the mixer or by nearly tearing pieces of it off against the flat surface and folding it back into the main dough until it has a fairly smooth consistency. After getting the basic dough kneaded, add the vinegar wine and blend it into the dough until it has a fairly smooth consistency again. You may need to add more flour. Add the egg(s) and do the same as you did with the wine/vinegar, adding more flour as needed. The dough should not be too sticky, but definitely not dry.

Depending on how large you like your empanadas, break off 2-3 in. diameter chunks of dough and roll them into balls. Place them in a bowl and cover the bowl with a towel to keep them moist. Roll them out into circles until they are quite thin, about 2 mm. I typically roll out all of the balls before proceeding to the next step, but it is your choice. Be sure to keep the rolled out dough under a towel as well.

Add the pino to the shell, but don't overfill your shell. Probably 2 tbsp per shell will be sufficient. Add a slice of hard boiled egg and an olive. Fold the shell in half over the pino and seal it with a little warm water. You can fold it into various design as well. The easiest is to fold the edges back on themselves making it roughly trapezoidal in shape. Paint each empanada with egg yolk and sprinkle some sugar on top of it (if you like).

Place them on a baking sheet so they aren’t touching and cook them at about 375 F for about 25-30 minutes or until they are a golden brown. You may eat them hot or cold, and they are good to eat with salsa or tomato and onion salad. You can also fill them with other things than pino. I've made them with:
Ham & cheese
Pepperoni, tomato sauce, and cheese
Broccoli, spinach, and alfredo sauce
Roasted vegetables

You can also deep fry them.