Ground Beef Recipe – Empañadas de Picadillo
Tasty Spanish-Style Meat Turnovers Make Hamburger Special
Feb 21, 2009
One of these tasty Empañadas and a salad makes a nice light meal. For an even lighter alternative, you can skip the pastry and serve the meat mixture on rice or pasta. The name is pronounced "em-pan-ya-das de pic-a-dee-yo" (the prosaic English translation is roughly "minced meat pies" or "mince turnovers". Sounds so much nicer in Spanish!).
Empañadas are popular in Spanish-speaking areas; Spain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Boliva - even Houston, Texas - claim to have originated the dish or to make the best version. All are some combination of minced meat, peppers, spices, and fruit surrounded by pastry. Frequently fried rather than baked.
Makes eight empañadas.
- Preparation & Assembly: 30 minutes
- Cooking: 10 - 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1/2 sweet pepper, finely diced
- 1 lb (500 g) lean ground beef
- 1 cup (250 mL) medium salsa (Note 1)
- 1 tbsp (15 mL) chili powder
- 1 tsp (5 mL) ground cumin
- 3/4 cup (175 mL) sliced green olives
- 1/2 cup (125 mL) raisins
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 frozen pie shells, thawed (Note 2)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Directions:
- Cook garlic, onion, pepper, and beef in large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and completely cooked. Drain if necessary.
- Add salsa, chili powder, and cumin. Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in olives and raisins. Season to taste. Allow to cool completely.
- Cut each pie shell in half. Form each half into a ball and roll out into a 7-inch (18 cm) round. Use 1/2 cup (125 mL) of meat mixture for each round. Moisten pastry edges with water, fold over and seal with fork.
- Place empañadas on foil-lined baking sheet. Prick with fork. Brush tops with beaten egg.
- Bake at 425F (220C) for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with a favorite crisp green salad recipe.
Cook's Notes:
- The raisins and cumin balance out the salsa and chili powder, so this is not a particularly spicy dish. For spicier empañadas use hot salsa.
- In place of frozen pie shells, use any good pie crust recipe
- To make ahead, freeze unbaked empañadas in a sealed container for up to a month; bake from frozen at 350F (180C) for 20-25 minutes
- To make 40 appetizer-sized empañadas, chop the green olives. Make each pie shell into ten 3-inch (8 cm) rounds. Fill with 1 tbsp (15 mL) of beef mixture. These tapas can be eaten hot or cold.
Bachelor Tip:
Make the full amount of meat mixture but only fill and bake four empañadas. Save the rest of the meat recipe for another meal served with a packaged rice side-dish.
This particular recipe is adapted from one by the Canadian Beef Information Centre (used with permission).
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