Recipe - Beef Empanadas and Corn Empanadas

In Chicago there was this amazing food truck and it would park a few blocks from my office every Thursday.  And thus Thursday became Empanadas Food Truck day.  I miss that.  But, these turned out pretty good too!  It's no food truck and it took a ton of work, but I made a huge recipe and froze 2/3 of them for lunches and snacks.

I served this with Chimichuri Sauce.

Beef Empanadas and Corn Empanadas  

 For the dough:

6 3/4 cups flour
4 t salt
3 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced (or, freeze it and grate it into the flour mixture...I know! amazing, right?)
3 large eggs
1 cups ice water
3 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar

For the beef filling:

1 pound of lean ground beef
2 onions, diced
2 T smoked paprika
2 T ground cumin
3 T red wine vinegar
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 T parsley, chopped finely
2 T capers, finely chopped
6 T olive oil
2 T butter
16 ounces tomato sauce
4 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped

For the corn filling

3 cups frozen corn (about one and a half bags)
1 T garlic
2 onions, diced
2 T olive oil
1 T butter
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T half and half

2 eggs, gently beaten with a fork (for the egg wash)

Directions

1. Let's start with the beef filling.  I did this at 3pm the day before I wanted to serve the empanadas.  It took me about an hour and a half, but it wasn't all active time.
2. Heat the oil and butter and saute the onions for about an hour over medium heat.  About fifteen or twenty minutes into it, add the red wine vinegar.  Add the pepper and cook another 5 minutes. 
3. Add the beef, spices, capers, tomato sauce and parsley. Cook until the beef is brown then crumble in the egg.
4. Set this in the fridge for at least 24 hours.



5. Now, the corn filling.
6. Saute the onions in the butter and olive oil for about 7 minutes.  Add in the garlic and corn for another 5.  Then add the half and half. 
7. Use an emersion blender and pulse a few times just so that the mixture is a little broken down, but you don't want soup or anything!
8. Add in the cheese and let melt.  Add the cornstarch and stir just to incorporate.  Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.



9. Next, the dough.  I actually did this after the beef, but it doesn't really matter. 
10. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl.
11. Use a pastry blender to work in the butter.  It should be mostly incorporated with a few pea sizes left
12. In another bowl, beat the egg, water and vinegar with a fork.
13. Combine into dry mixture, but be careful to not over mix.
14. With floured hands, shape the dough into a ball then flatten to a disk. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.  I did this the night before.



15. Okay, now we are ready to cook!  You want your oven at 400F.  
16. Roll out your dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into 4 inch disks.
17. Place 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the center and fold the circle into a half moon.  Pinch and fold the edges to seal them and place the formed empanada onto a prepared baking sheet. Stab the top of the empanada to keep it from exploding. 
18. Continue to do this with the remaining dough and filling.
19. Once you’ve formed all of your empanadas, brush them with the egg wash. Bake the empanadas for approximately 15 minutes (until golden brown).
20. I froze half the empanadas before baked and just defrosted.

I folded the corn and beef differently to remember what each was filled with.  Here are a few ways that you can try.

References:

•  http://www.turntablekitchen.com/recipes/argentinian-beef-empanadas-a-return-to-calm/
• http://www.fromargentinawithlove.typepad.com/from_argentina_with_love/2011/06/empanadas-de-humitas-corn-and-piquillo-pepper-empanadas.html
• http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/argentinean-corn-empanadas-recipe.html
• http://www.thekitchn.com/appetizer-recipe-empanadas-with-corn-filling-169858