E M P A N A D A S
C H I L E A N A S !
¡Saludos de Chile! Yesterday my friend Marcelo taught some friends and me how to make Chilean empanadas. They remind me of pasties: oven-baked, hand-held pies filled with onions and beef. You can't walk a block in Santiago without seeing a stand selling hot empanadas. We made the real deal- pino filling, the most common, while cheese is a close second- and the options are endless! Here's the recipe (ad verbatim from Chef Marcelo himself):Ingredients:
3 white onions
1 kilo of beef
Olive/ vegetable oil
2 cubes of chicken stock
Pepper (whatever kind)
2 kilos of flour
3 tbsp salt
2 tbsp baking powder
250 grams lard
milk (small amount)
2 hard boiled eggs
olives
raisins
Method:
1. Make sure the chef has wine.
2. Filling (pino): Dice the onions and beef into half-inch cubes
3. Fry the beef on the stove, adding a little oil. Add onions, chicken stock cubes and spices, and wee bit of water (wee- you want this to boil off so the filling is dry when you roll em up). Let this simmer for a bit.
4. The crust (masa): Toss the lard in the microwave until it's liquid. While it's heating, make a big volcano with the flour. Make a small divot, and slowly add the hot lard to the flour, kneading the dough in between lard addition. When you run out of lard, mix half milk half hot water in a cup and add that slowly. Once it's dough, ready in consistency to roll, set it under a towel to sit for 10-15 minutes.
5. At some point in the dough-making, take the pino off the stove. Cool it down in the freezer or outside if it's cold.
6. Hard boil those eggs if you haven't already.
7. Empandada: Roll out the dough in approximately 8-inch diameter circles (hot tip: cut using a plate/bowl as a template).
8. Add a spoon of pino (must be dry enough not to fall through the dough) to the masa, as well as a tiny bit of hard boiled egg. Add one olive and two raisins. Tradition, I'm told, dictates these quantities. Should look like this:
9. Fold once into a half circle, pressing the dough to lock up the pino. Fold in the two sides, and finally the top.
10. For bonus points, brush the top with egg yolk.
11. Toss 'em in the oven for 20-30 minutes at around 375 F. When the egg gets golden and the crust is dry and flaky, take out your creations and feast! (Recommended accompaniments include salad and red wine).
Chef Marcelo says "¡Buen provecho!"
1) Boil beets until tender, remove skins