Beef empanadas

FILLING INGREDIENTS (“PINO”)  – for 16 large empanadas
Pino is a seasoned mixture of ground beef, onions, raisins, black olives, and hard boiled eggs. The “pino” tastes best if made the day before and allowed to rest overnight before filling the empanadas.

2 lb of London broil
4 large Spanish onions, chopped
8 cups of beef broth
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoons chile powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup raisins
16 Alfonso Olives
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

PREPARATION 

1. Saute the onions and garlic in the vegetable oil and butter until softened. Add the cumin, chile powder, smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Season the meat and sear it on a saute pan.

3. Simmer the beef on the beef broth and a quarter onion for 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the broth, let it cool and chop it. Mix it with the sautéd onions to create a wonderful pino.

4. Fill the empanadas with the pino, olives, raisin and boiled egg.

5. Before baking the empanadas, brush them with a mix of 1 egg white and 2 spoons or water to get a nice shine.

6. Preheat the oven at 400°F

7. Bake them for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

8. Let them cool for 1 hr before serving.

DOUGH INGREDIENTS – for 16 large empanadas

8 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
24 tablespoons lard or vegetable shortening, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon cup water

PREPARATION 

1. Sift the flour into a bowl. Stir in the salt and the sugar.

2. Melt the butter with the lard or shortening, and stir into the flour with a fork.

3. Add the vegetable shortening or lard, and knead until it fairly well blended with the flour.

4. Stir in the 1 cup of water, a little at a time until the dough comes together smoothly. Keep kneading the dough, adding water if necessary, until the dough is very smooth, about 5-10 minutes. You can knead the dough with a standing mixer and a dough hook attachment.

5. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest on the counter for about a half hour. (Dough can also be kept overnight in the refrigerator, then brought to room temperature before using.) Dough should be soft and smooth, and not elastic – if you poke a hole in it with your finger, the indentation should remain.

6. Turn dough out a floured surface, and roll into desired thickness making 16 in circles.