After the barbecue, the Creole empanadas is the typical Argentine dish par excellence, which is why they are never lacking on the table on national holidays. The empanadas arrived in Argentina at the hands of the Spanish and each region adapted it to its typical products and the taste of its population. Even today, each province has its variant, from the ones in Salta, Tucuman or Santiago, to the lesser-known ones in Patagonia.
This time, we brings you the typical recipe for Buenos Aires Creole empanadas. They are made with meat, onion, pepper, olives, hard-boiled egg and raisins. If you want to relive their flavor or find out why they are so famous in the country, read on and discover how to make juicy Creole empanadas in just a few steps!
Ingredients to make Creole Empanadas:
For the filling
• 500 grams of minced or diced beef
• 500 grams of onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 oregano
• 1 cumin
• 1 ground chili
• 1 sweet paprika
• 1 salt
• 3 hardboiled eggs
• Green olives without pit or stone
• Pitted or pitted raisins (optional)
• Oil or fat
For the mass
• 500 grams of flour
• 75 butter
• 1 salt
• 240 hot water
How to make Creole Empanadas:
To start with these salty Creole empanadas, chop the onion very small. Remove the seeds and the white parts of the red pepper, chop it very small. In a frying pan, heat plenty of oil or fat. Sauté onion and bell pepper until translucent.
Tip: The amount of onion you use is important because it will help you obtain juicy Creole empanadas.
Add the meat to the pan, either minced or cut with a knife into small cubes. Mix well with the onion and bell pepper. Add a teaspoon of salt and stir.
Trick: The meat can be buttock, rump, shoulder, and loin… whatever you prefer!
Once the meat has changed color, add the seasonings: a teaspoon of oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of ground chili pepper and a generous tablespoon of sweet paprika. Also add 1/2 glass of meat broth and mix the preparation well. Turn off the heat and let the stuffing rest.
Tip: Ideally, but not essential, is to let the filling rest overnight, so the flavors are well concentrated.
To make the dough for these baked Creole empanadas, pour the flour onto a surface suitable for kneading. Make a hole in the center forming a crown. In a container with hot water, add a teaspoon of salt and stir. This mixture is known as brine. In the center of the crown add the melted butter (or fat) and half of the brine. Mix little by little until all the flour is moistened.
As you mix in the flour, continue to pour in the salted water. Keep mixing with your hands until well amalgamated and form a bun to be able to knead your Argentine Creole empanadas.
Knead for about 10 minutes until you get a very homogeneous dough. With this amount of dough, 2 dozen discs of empanadas come out. Cut the bun in half and form a cylinder with both halves. Divide each cylinder into 12 equal parts. Form 24 buns and let them rest for approximately 10 minutes, covering them with a cloth. After 10 minutes, begin to form the disks stretching with a stick or rolling pin until they reach about 12 cm in diameter. It should be a very smooth and soft dough. Once you have all the disks, proceed to fill the empanadas criollas de carne. Chop 2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs and the olives. With a soup spoon, place the filling in the middle of the disk, add a little chopped egg and olives. You can add raisins if you like them.
Once the filling is placed, fold the lid and pinch the edges. If the top of the empanada does not stick easily, wet the edge with a very little water. Make the repulgue using the index finger and thumb and making small folds to the dough.
If you cannot make the repulgue, the important thing is that the edge of the empanada is well sealed, so you can help yourself with a fork and squeeze the entire edge to close the empanada. In this way, neither the filling nor the juice of the empanada comes out.
Place the empanadas on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Take them to the oven at 180 ° C until the dough is golden (about half an hour).
Tip: If you want to make fried Creole empanadas, prepare them in a deep frying pan with plenty of hot oil or melted fat.
Once golden, remove them from the oven and let them cool slightly. Serve them on a tray and enjoy these delicious juicy Creole empanadas.
Creole empanadas – Suggestions and other recipes
Creole empanadas, in addition to being a very tasty dish, are a good option for a light lunch or dinner, providing complex carbohydrates, fiber, proteins, phosphorus, iron, potassium, B-complex vitamins, and many more nutrients depending on the filling. And the cooking mode.
And speaking of fillings and ingredients, you can make sweet Creole empanadas if you add a little sugar to the dough. To prepare some delicious sweet empanadas, follow our recipe for sweet sandwich and cheese empanadas.
