AI-generated image
Empanadas tucumanas
Empanadas tucumanas: small hand-cut beef empanadas with onion and cumin, crimped by hand
ArgentinianTucumán takes its empanadas so seriously that the town of Famaillá holds a national empanada festival every September, and judges count the pleats. The local style is small and juicy, filled with beef cut by hand with a knife (never minced), lots of white onion and spring onion, cumin, paprika and hard-boiled egg, and the dough is made with beef fat. They are baked very hot, traditionally in a clay oven, until blistered, and eaten standing up at peñas, football matches or family lunches, a drop of lemon squeezed in. The beef filling must reach 71 °C; it cooks first in the pan and again in the oven. A dry filling is the mistake to avoid: cook the onion slowly and let the filling cool so the fat sets, which turns to juice in the oven. Chef's tip: chill the filling overnight if you can; cold filling is easier to spoon and the empanadas come out juicier.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- hard
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
For the filling
To serve
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (7)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb plain flour with 3 ½ oz beef dripping and 1 cup warm water and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth and soft. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Melt 1 ¾ oz beef dripping in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat and cook 3 white onions for 15 minutes, until very soft and sweet but not browned.
15 minStep 3: Add 1 ⅓ lb beef rump or flank and turn the heat up to medium. Stir for 5 minutes, until the meat has lost its red colour and reaches 160°F.
5 minStep 4: Stir in 6 spring onions, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp dried chilli flakes and 1 ½ tsp salt and cook for 2 minutes. Spread on a tray, cool and chill for at least 1 hour, until the fat sets.
2 minStep 5: Heat the oven as hot as it goes, 475°F (450°F fan), with a baking tray inside. Roll the dough to 2 mm and cut 12 cm circles; you should get about 24.
Step 6: Put a heaped tablespoon of cold filling and a little of 3 eggs on each circle. Wet the edge, fold over and press, then crimp the edge into a rope of 13 pleats by folding and pinching it over itself.
Step 7: Bake on the hot tray for 10–12 minutes, until blistered and golden brown. Serve hot with 1 lemon.
12 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 24 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 22 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does empanadas tucumanas take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 75 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of white onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Coastal Mombasa mix
A Mombasa street-food bowl: chickpeas and potato simmered in coconut milk with raw mango and chilli, ladled into small bowls and topped with crisp lentil fritters, crunchy chevdo and red, green and tamarind chutneys. Make the fritters and chevdo ahead and assemble at the table. It's sweet, sour, hot and crunchy all at once.
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, 'grilled as you like it') is the pride of Osaka, where it's cooked on hot iron griddles in lively restaurants. Finely shredded cabbage is folded into a light batter with egg and spring onion, then fried into a thick, soft pancake with a crisp outside. It's painted with a fruity brown sauce and zigzagged with mayonnaise. Bonito flakes are usual on top; this vegetarian version uses seaweed flakes and pickled ginger instead. Chef's tip: don't press the pancake down with your spatula while it cooks. Osaka cooks leave it alone so the cabbage steams inside and stays light and fluffy; pressing squeezes out the air.
Japanese
Masala khakhra
Khakhra are thin chapaties roasted slowly on a griddle until they turn crisp, like a cracker. This masala version adds gram flour, fresh fenugreek, turmeric and chilli to the wheat dough. They are a light Gujarati breakfast or tea-time snack, and lovely with pickle, chutney or a smear of butter. You can also make them in a roti maker.
Indian