Argentinian Empanadas

Another year come and gone and all I have is three damn recipes on the blog to show for it! I cooked a lot this past year but rarely had the time to write about it. Instagram Stories have taken over social media, becoming the top used source to share our private lives and daily habits and I am not exempt. I love sharing my cooking with people and social media is a pretty easy way to do that.

A lot has changed in the last year. There have been a lot of family dynamics that have changed, I left Stitch Fix, and have experienced the lonely life of being single in a big city with no direction in really what I want to do next. I've had time to take for myself, have taken a lot of long walks, have done a lot of pilates, and have been able to recenter myself and refocus on what is important to me - and that is family, friends, and cooking. It's actually funny to look back at my post in April, talking about how most of my time was going to work. Glad that's over!

I spent two weeks in South America in October with my dear friend Angela and we had the trip of a lifetime! We ate like queens and shopped like Paris Hilton and I must go back immediately. One evening, we spent time with a brother and sister who welcomed us into their home for an Airbnb Experience. The experience was an evening learning how to make empanadas, drink Argentinian wine, and get to know people from around the world. The group consisted of Angela and I, a couple from Dallas, a woman in her mid 60s from Norway and a New Zealander named Kirsten who was there to referee the Junior Olympics... what a group! We spent the evening talking politics, food, and wine and the time flew by. By the end of it, we were all stuffed to the brim with new knowledge, empanadas and Malbec. Ah, the life.

The rest of our trip was spent looking for the best empanadas, which we found at a place called El Sanjuanino (thank you Kate Marks!) We loved it so much on our first day in Buenos Aires, we returned on our last day before hitting the airport and even got some empandas to go. They cost $1 and our entire bottle of wine cost $3 and all is good in the world. The place we were recommended in Valparaíso, Le Pató, did not compare but we did take a cute photo there.

Ingredients for empanada dough:

3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt
6 oz unsalted butter
1 egg
1/2 cup of water

Directions for empanada dough:

1. Mix the flour and salt together in a food processor or mixer

2. Add the butter and pulse

3. Add the water in increments until a clumpy dough forms (you can also do this by hand)

4. Split the dough into 2 large balls, flatten into a disc shape. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, or up to 2 days for use

5. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (I used the lid of a protein powder jar lol)

Ingredients for empanada filling:

2 pounds rump beef, cut into cubes
1 bunch of green onion, chopped
2 yellow onions, diced
4 tablespoons canola oil
8 hardboiled eggs
8 tablespoons cumin
5 tablespoons salt
8 tablespoons paprika
20 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

Directions for empanada filling:

1. Cook the onions in the canola oil until tender (the reason you are using canola oil instead of olive oil is because you want the flavors to come out naturally, you do not want the olive oil to overtake the flavors of the meat and spice)

2. Add the meat to the onions and cook until golden and browning

3. Add salt, cumin, paprika and mix into your onion and meat mixture

4. Turn off the heat and add the hard boiled eggs and olives to the mixture

5. Allow to cool

6. Place the filling on each individual dough by spoonfuls

7. Moisten half the disc with the fingertips with water, close in half, and "repulse" - this is the process where you fold the sides into the little pretty ripples that you know and love

8. Fry in canola oil until golden brown - make sure you put enough oil in your pot to completely cover the empanadas when submerged