Baked Beef Empanadas with Potato and Peppers
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
Golden, crimped baked empanadas with a buttery pastry and a savoury filling of beef, sweet peppers and tender potato seasoned with cumin and paprika.
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Method
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Equipment
- food processor
- large frying pan
- instant-read thermometer
- rolling pin
- 12 cm round cutter or saucer
- 2 baking trays
- baking paper
- pastry brush
- wire rack
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 485 kcal |
| Protein | 18.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 46.1 g |
| of which sugars | 2.6 g |
| of which free sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 24.8 g |
| of which saturates | 11.7 g |
| Fibre | 2.9 g |
| Salt | 1.13 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
3.8 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
Metric · 6 servings
Pastry
- 300 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
- 3 g fine sea salt or table salt about ½ tsp
- 90 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 large egg
- 90 ml ice-cold water, plus 1-2 tbsp if needed
Glaze
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water, for glazing
Filling
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped about 150 g
- ½ green pepper, cut into 5 mm dice about 75 g
- ½ red pepper, cut into 5 mm dice about 75 g
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 3 g fine sea salt or table salt about ½ tsp
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 small potato, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes about 100 g
- 340 g beef mince (15% fat)
- 60 ml water
- 1
Dough. Pulse the flour, salt and cold butter in a food processor until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Beat the egg with the water, add it and pulse just until the dough clumps, adding 1-2 tbsp more water only if it stays dry. Press into a flat disc, wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes; cold butter and rested gluten make a flaky, easy-to-roll pastry.
- 2
Base. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the tomato paste and stir for 2 minutes, until it turns brick red. Frying the paste caramelises its sugars and deepens the flavour.
- 3
Vegetables. Add the onion, both peppers, garlic, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until softened. Stir in the potato and cook for 8-10 minutes more, stirring often, until it is tender at the edges; small cubes cook through fast and keep their shape.
- 4
Beef. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the beef and cook for 6-8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and it reads 71 °C. Pour in the water and simmer for 2-3 minutes, until the filling is moist but not wet, so the pastry stays crisp.
- 5
Chill. Spread the filling on a plate and chill for at least 20 minutes, until cold. Warm filling melts the butter in the dough and makes it tear.
- 6
Heat. Heat the oven to 200 °C (180 °C fan) and line 2 trays with baking paper.
- 7
Shape. Roll the dough on a floured surface to 2-3 mm thick and cut out 12 cm rounds, rerolling the scraps once, to make 12. Spoon about 2 tbsp filling onto one half of each round, brush the edge with water, fold over into a half-moon and press out the air as you seal. Crimp by folding the edge over itself in small pleats, or press it with a fork; a tight seal stops the filling bursting out.
- 8
Bake. Set the empanadas on the trays, brush with the egg glaze and bake for 20-25 minutes, swapping the trays halfway, until deep golden. Cool for 10 minutes on a rack so the filling settles before serving.
Storage
Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat at 180 °C for 10-12 minutes, until piping hot (74 °C). Freeze baked or unbaked for up to 2 months. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
