Empanadas

Directions Print

1. For the dough, dissolve the lard and salt in a bowl of hot water, let cool to room temperature.
2. Fold in the flour gradually, until a dough begins to form, take out of bowl and knead on a floured surface until firm. Wrap with kitchen film and refrigerate.
3. For the filling, season the ground beef with salt and pepper, in a hot skillet add the lard(crisco), beef and brown, stirring continually 5-8 minutes.
4. Turn down the heat, add the diced onions, chopped garlic, and finely diced chorizo, brown onions slightly, add the potatoes, chopped oregano and thyme, stirring for approximately 10 minutes
5. Add the tomato paste and 1 cup of the beef broth along with paprika and cayenne pepper. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, if becomes too thick, thin with a little of the second cup of beef broth.
6. When potatoes are cooked and sauce coats(needs to be slightly thick for filling not soupy). Fold in the chopped olives adjust seasoning and let filling completely cool down in the refrigerator.
7. Remove dough from the refrigerator, divide into 1oz balls, flatten by hand into a circle and roll out on a floured surface to approximately 4 inch circles.
8. Spoon 2 tablespoons of filling into center of the dough circle, moisten edges and fold over into a 1/2 moon. Fold edges back and crimp with fingertips.
9. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes on a greased sheet pan, brush top of dough with melted butter before baking.