Empanadas - Meat Filled Pastries Recipe

Empanadas - Meat Filled Pastries Recipe

Pastry:

2 cups plain (all-purpose flour)

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 egg yolk, beaten

¼ cup melted butter or margarine

1 egg white, lightly beaten

lard or oil for deep frying

Filling:

3 rashers bacon

1 tablespoon lard or oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

250 g minced pork and veal, or Spanish sausage, finely chopped

125 g finely chopped raw chicken

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped pickled gherkins

Method:

To make Pastry:  Sift flour and salt into a bowl.  Mix together water, sugar and egg yolk.  Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the mixture.  Then blend and knead until smooth.  Leave to rest for 15 minutes.  Roll out half the pastry very thinly on a lightly floured board and brush with half of the melted butter.  Roll up pastry to a long, thin roll, making sure it is rolled tightly and firmly.  Cut into slices about 2.5 cm thick and roll each slice out again to a circle about the size of a small saucer.  Put a spoonful of filling on each, brush edges of pastry with lightly beaten egg white, fold to a half circle shape and press edges firmly together to seal.  Decorate with tines of a fork.  Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.  Heat lard or oil in a deep frying pan and when moderately hot fry the empanadas, a few at a time, until golden brown, stirring gently so that they will brown evenly.  When done, remove and drain well on absorbent paper and serve warm.

Filling:  Remove rind, chop bacon into small pieces and fry until fat runs.  Remove bacon from pan, add lard or oil and fry garlic and onion over low heat until transparent and aromatic.  Increase heat, add meats and fry, stirring, until they change color.  Add salt, pepper and tomato sauce, stir well.  Lower heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Stir in hard-boiled eggs and pickled gherkins and allow to cool before filling pastry.  Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary.