Argentinian Empanadas with Beef and Potatoes

Let me introduce the perfect snack from Latin America to you: empanadas! Empanadas are turnovers with many different types of fillings. This version is with beef and potatoes from Argentina. But the options are endless. Of course I have introduced empanadas from different countries on my blog. How about Uruguayan empanadas with beef filling, Bolivian chicken empanadas, which are called salteñas, empanadas from Colombia, which are traditionally fried, or sweet empanadas with dulce de leche filling. Empanadas from Argentina and Uruguay are often made with wheat flour and are usually baked. I personally like this version the best. Empanadas can be easily frozen, you just need to make sure to bake them longer, they will taste just as freshly made.

Every country in Latin America has a particular way of making empanadas. Whereas Central America, Colombia and Venezuela often use corn as the base for the dough or platains, Argentina and Uruguay usually prepare this snack with wheat flour. Empanadas can be fried or baked, whereas I obviously perfer the baked version. As Argentina and Urguguay are big on exporting beef, they have many version including beef, like the on eblow. The one from Uruguay with beef is prepared with a tomatoe sauce. This is to make the filling moist. The recipe below uses the starchy water from boiled potatoes to give the filling a moister feel to it. Bolivian empanadas named salteñas use gelatine for a flavorful filling. Traditionally all empanadas are sealed with a braided edge, the idea is that none of the filling can seep out.

Empanadas from Argentina with Beef and Potatoes

Serves: About 15 empanadas, depending on size
Prep Time: 2hr 30min Cooking Time: 20min Total Time: 3hr

Empanadas from Argentina are turnovers with beef and potatoes and are delicious as a snack.

Ingredients

  • Dough
  • 330 grams of water
  • 60 grams of butter
  • 600 grams of all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • Optional: 1 tablespoon of dry oregano

  • Filling
  • 4 small potatoes
  • 1 big onion
  • 1-3 garlic cloves to taste
  • 500 grams of beef minced meat
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • Pepper to your liking
  • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon of dried parsley
  • 1 egg for egg wash
  • You can serve them with the herbs sauce called chimichurri

Instructions

1

For the dough heat the water and melt the butter in it. Then weigh flour, salt and oregano into a large kneading bowl and add the water mix. Either knead by hand or with a machine until you have a smooth and elastic dough. Let rest at least for 30min or overnight. If resting longer, make sure to either cover or place in an airtight container.

2

For the filling first peel and cube the potatoes, then boil for about 15min in salt water until soft. Drain, but reserve the water, we will need some of it later. Then peel and cube the onion and chop the garlic. First fry the onions with some oil in a frying pan until translucent, remove from frying pan and without cleaning, brown the minced meat in the same frying pan. Transfer back the onions and add the garlic. Add the spices, season more if you like and add about a few splashes of the potatoe water. Let simmer for about a minute. Add the potatoes and a bit more of the potatoes water at the end and stir. You want the filling to be slightly moist, but don't want it to be liquid. Let cool off.

3

Cut the dough in half and roll out one half on a floured surface. I cut out circles with a small bowl and a knife, the circles should be about 13cm in diameter. Place two to three teaspoons of the filling in the middle of the dough circle, then fold over one half of the circle resulting in a half moon. Wet the edges first with some water then seal first with your fingers. You will braid the edges by always pulling one small part away and then folding in towards the center. For a visual, check this video.

4

Place the prepared empanadas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Brush empanadas with egg wash, I also sprinkled with some coarse salt. Bake for about 20-25min or until golden. Prepared empanadas can be frozen, first place loose on some parchment paper and freeze for one to two hours. Then place in an airtight container. Bake frozen empanadas about ten minutes longer and also brush with some egg wash first. Serve warm with chimichurri sauce.

P.S.: Check out even more empanada recipes in this blog post!

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1 Comment

  • Reply
    Ole
    Thursday January 26th, 2023 at 12:26 PM

    Espectacular! M’encanta! Genau das hätte ich genau jetzt gern dampfend, mundwässernd und satanarchäolügenialkohöllisch verführerisch auf meinem Teller. 🙂

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