Chilean Empanadas

Empanadas are basically meat pies. They are popular all across Latin America and come in many different variations. When I lived in Argentina my host mother was Chilean, and she taught me this recipe which I am repeating from imperfect memory. Unfortunately I've never gotten the taste of the filling quite the same as hers. She passed away last year and these empanadas are one of the things that I can remember her by.

The Filling:

-about 2 pounds of ground beef*
-2-3 onions, chopped
-1 teaspoon chili pepper
-1 tablespoon cumin powder
-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
-salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat and add the onions and spices. Taste test it to see if there is enough salt. When finished, let it cool and then refrigerate it. It should be cool or cold when you make the dough and start making the actual empanadas.

The dough:

-1 cup milk
-1 stick of butter (cut into cubes)
-1 tablespoon of yeast
-1 tablespoon of sugar
-1 teaspoon of salt
-4-5 cups of flour
-2 egg yolks

Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. Save the whites for later. Heat the cup of milk, but do not boil. Add the yeast and sugar to the milk. Mix and let sit for about seven minutes. Then add the salt, butter, and egg yolks. Slowly add a little flour at a time and mix. When it is too solid to use a spoon, knead with your hands. I don't know precisely how much flour is needed. I stop adding flour when the dough is feels solid and isn't sticky.

Making the Empanadas:

Break off a ball of dough about 1 and 1/2 inches thick. Apply flour to your hands, the dough, the surface, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough into a thin circle. Chilean empanadas are usually large. I aim for a diameter of about 8 inches. If making a circle is difficult, place a bowl over the flat dough and use a knife to cut around the edge of the bowl and then save the excess dough. Spoon out a generous amount of the filling into the center of the dough. Dip a brush into the egg whites and apply a thin coating of egg white around the edge of half of the circle of dough. This will act as a glue for the next step, folding the dough over the filling, and then pressing down hard with your fingers to seal the two halves together. Try not to leave any openings. To further seal in the filling, now take the bits of dough that you have just sealed together and either fold them over, or make a twisting pattern like in the picture above (it's difficult to explain precisely how to do the twisting correctly - just play around with it). Now apply egg white to the top of the empanada (this will give it its golden brown color).

Place the empanadas on a buttered cookie sheet. Keep some space between them, as they will expand a little bit. Bake for about 18 minutes at 375 degrees F (about 220 C), or until they have turned brown. Cool and eat.

Optional Additions:

In addition to different ways of making the dough and filling, each country and region often have different things they add to the filling after it is cooked. My host mother used fresh olives (one per empanada) and hard boiled eggs (cut into eights, with just one or two pieces per empanada). Argentinians used raisins (their empanadas were sweeter overall).

*one of the difficulties in translating her recipe was figuring out what kind of meat she used. I couldn't find the word for the cut of beef she used in my dictionary. I don't remember how I came to the conclusion, but somehow I have come to believe it is chuck. I also have a feeling she may have originally used shredded meat as opposed to ground. I don't recall exactly.