Empanadas
Golden, hand-crimped turnovers with a juicy, olive-flecked beef filling, from Tucuman to your kitchen: the repulgue fold is easier than it looks and seals in every drop.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Empanadas, in 5 ideas
- The filling cooks first and chills. Warm filling melts the dough's fat and bursts empanadas in the fryer or oven.
- Beef tallow in the dough is the traditional richness. Butter or lard both work and keep the crust flaky.
- The repulgue, that braided rope edge, is a seal and a signature. Twelve little folds, always in the same direction.
- Olive and a little cumin are the Argentine voice in the filling. Sweet versions exist, but savory beef is the icon.
- Fry for the classic blister, bake for the weeknight version. Both are correct somewhere in Argentina.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup beef tallow or butter, melted
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 cup green olives, chopped
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- Oil, if frying
How to make it
Method
Make the dough: mix the flour and salt, stir in the melted tallow and warm water, and knead 5 minutes until smooth. Rest, covered, for 30 minutes.
Cook the filling: soften the onion in a little tallow, add the beef, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, and fry until just cooked. Off the heat, stir in the olives and egg. Cool completely, then chill.
Roll the dough thin and cut 12 rounds, about 5 inches across.
Place a heaped tablespoon of filling on each round. Wet the edge, fold in half, and seal with a fork or a repulgue fold, pinching and folding the edge over itself in small steps.
To fry: heat 2 inches of oil to 350 °F (175 °C) and fry in batches for 3 to 4 minutes, until deep golden. To bake: brush with egg wash and bake at 400 °F (200 °C) for 20 minutes.
Drain on a rack, rest 5 minutes (the filling is molten), and serve hot, with chimichurri if you have it.
Keep cut rounds and finished empanadas under a damp cloth while you work: dried edges will not seal, and unsealed empanadas leak in the oil.