Grandma Clari's Empanadas Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Make Ahead

by: nogaga

June8,2011

2 Ratings

Grandma Clari's Empanadas Recipe on Food52 (1)

Serves lots

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Author Notes

All day I have been buffeted by a terrible nostalgia for everything Argentine and long gone, for my grandmother’s beautiful and varied cooking, for the shape of her fingers (one bent due to a kitchen mishap, another with its tip sliced off), for the all-encompassing feeling of arriving at her kitchen surrounded by cousins. I blame all this on my old friend Hernán, who last night for no earthly reason posted a shameless list of classic Argentine hits from the mid-eighties.
My grandmother Clari was the sort who sent you to the vegetable patch to unearth potatoes if you wanted gnocchi for lunch, and who all but burnt our small flat down when, on a visit once to Geneva—and wanting me to eat proper, homemade dulce de leche—set the big Le Creuset pot on a low fire and settled in for a nap. She died ten years ago, and I’ve been missing her awfully.
It’s easy to get really great empanadas on almost any Buenos Aires block, and in the past decade regional empanadas (especially those hailing from Tucumán, Salta, and Mendoza) have really gussied up the offerings—but nothing quite has the flavor of Clari’s homemade empanadas. I have a tiny black notebook in which she wrote out some recipes for me, and the only thing that stands out, possibly apart from the alchemy and other ethers, is the combination of flavours created by combining plumped raisins, green olives, and cumin, and the specific texture and juiciness of the hand-cut beef. Don’t take a shortcut on this step. In terms of the effort you’ll put into it, it’s really not a big deal, but the results are incomparable to ground beef. If a shortcut is absolutely necessary here, make it by using premade dough for the empanada rounds. It won’t be the same, but it will be good enough, and not everyone has access to flaky beef back fat. But I really wouldn’t bother to make these with ground beef.
Clari baked her empanadas, and they’d emerge from the oven steaming and almost juicing over, just waiting for the first bite. But if anyone has a preference for frying, I’d say go for it. It’s got to be a great take on these. I recommend a nice Malbec and a late afternoon breeze to accompany the empanadas.

Buen provecho!

NOTE: You can play with the amounts of cumin, coriander, oregano, and pimentón to come up with your own best flavour.

The images are of my grandmother's kitchen, her standing in front of the house (sometime in the fifties, I'm guessing), of our woodburning empanada and pizza oven, and a generic image of empanadas. —nogaga

Test Kitchen Notes

Beef fat should be easy to find for those who live near cattle-rearing communities. However, for the rest of us, shortening will do. Feel free to halve this entire recipe if feeding a smaller crowd—though you may appreciate the leftovers. —Stephanie Bourgeois

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Ingredients

Dough for empanadas
8 cupsflour
2 teaspoonsfine sea salt
8 ¹/₂ ouncesflaky beef fat, rendered and cooled, or other fat or oil
2 ¹/₂ cupswater

Filling for empanadas
¹/₃ cupraisins
¹/₂ poundgreen olives, then some
4 eggs
1 poundexcellent fillet of beef
1 bunchspring onions, sliced
1 medium-sized onion
1 green pepper
2 tablespoonsrendered and cooled beef fat
1 teaspooncoriander seeds
1 dashsalt and pepper, to taste
1 ¹/₂ teaspoonscumin
1 ¹/₂ teaspoonsdried oregano
1 tablespoontomato paste
1 teaspoondemerara sugar
1 teaspoonsweet pimentón or paprika

Directions

For the dough: mix the flour, salt, and cooled rendered fat. Add water as you mix the ingredients, until the mass holds together and becomes a smooth dough. Knead only until it holds its own shape well, wrap in plastic wrap, and allow an hour to rest at room temp. When you're ready, divide into manageable portions and roll out into a thin layer, about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into disks, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Keep these disks humid by stacking them with with plastic wrap between each disk and covering the entire pile. You can refrigerate these while making the filling.
For the filling: First, the mise en place: Hydrate the raisins in water or red wine and set aside. Remove the pits from the green olives, dice, and set aside. Boil the eggs for about 8 minutes, let cool, peel, and chop and set aside. Finely chop the beef into thin, small slices resembling what you might be served at a fine Parisian bistro if you asked for a good beef tartare, a pile of distinct beef shavings far from a mash. Please enjoy this last step thoroughly!
Finely chop the spring onions, onion, and deveined green pepper. Melt the rendered beef fat in a large pot and begin to gently soften the onions and pepper. You do not want them in any way to crisp. Crush the coriander seeds and add them along with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano. Add tomato paste and sugar.
Add the beef and mix while it begins to cook, until it loses its raw color. Add the olives and raisins.
Add chopped cooked eggs and pimentón, mix very gently, and check that the seasoning is to your taste. Allow the filling to cool before forming the empanadas.
Preheat your oven to 400° F. Remove dough disks from fridge and allow to reach room temperature. Place a little more than a tablespoon of filling on one side of each disk and fold the other half over it, sealing the edges with water and neat folds, as if you were crimping a pie.
These are best made on a pizza stone, but use what you've got. If you are using a plain baking sheet, I'd recommend sprinkling with some polenta before placing the empanadas on top. These normally need to bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, and emerge succulent and piping hot.

Tags:

South American
Cumin
Raisin
Beef
Oregano
Coriander
Make Ahead
Serves a Crowd
Appetizer
Snack

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39 Reviews

Kurt G. April 20, 2018

As others here, I questioned the 1” thickness of the discs of dough. Looking at other recipes, I’m convinced this is a typo. Comparing other sources I think a thickness of 1/4” is more appropriate.

nogaga April 21, 2018

FAQs

Is empanada dough the same as tortilla dough? ›

There's not a lot of difference — chief one being that you use ice water with empanada dough, and hot water for tortillas. Another difference is the flour.

Get More Info ›

What types of premade dough can you use to make empanadas? ›

As mentioned above many people will use their favorite pre-made pie dough to make empanadas. This is because the ingredients for most dough recipes are very similar. Most pie doughs use flour, butter, salt, water, and sometimes egg; an ingredient list almost identical to those needed for this recipe!

View Details ›

Does empanada dough have baking powder? ›

For the empanada dough: Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the lard with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. In a separate bowl, beat the egg and then whisk in the stock.

What are the three main types of empanadas in Chile which is the most popular? ›

Two types of Chilean empanadas are the most common by far: empanadas de pino, which are filled with a mixture of beef and onions, plus raisins, olives and wedges of hard-boiled egg, and empanadas de queso, which are filled with gooey, melted cheese.

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How do you keep empanadas crispy? ›

We've already established that the crust is the key to a good empanada, but the key to a good crust for a fried empanada is temperature control. Frying at 350°F (177°C) will result in an empanada that is crisp-flaky, and light, not oil-logged.

Do you fry or bake empanadas? ›

Across the country, different regions take their own approach to the cooking process. In Salta, empanadas are usually baked, while in Tucumán, they're fried. Around the world, a few of the most popular fillings include: Beef.

What does egg do to empanada dough? ›

Texture: The empanada dough is to die for. It's buttery with the perfect amount of crunch and interior softness. The chorizo adds bits of meatiness, the potato adds starchy softness, while the eggs add fluffiness.

Tell Me More ›

Why does my empanada dough crack? ›

The main ingredients are water and corn flour. If you don't work quickly, the dough will dry out and start to crack.

Read On ›

What nationality makes the best empanadas? ›

Argentina has become world-famous for their empanadas which are widely available in Buenos Aires and across the country as fast-food options and restaurant staples. As with many recipes, that of empanadas was shared through generations and carried to many other nations.

What is the difference between Spanish empanadas and Mexican empanadas? ›

The Spanish recipe was made with bread dough, the Mexican recipe with corn masa dough. This is where Mexican empanada history takes over. Each region in Mexico has their own version of the empanada. Some regions use wheat flour, some use corn masa dough, some are deep fried some are baked.

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What is the fancy name for empanadas? ›

These are a few of the known names: Meat Pies (American) Empanadas (Latin/Spanish) Pastelillos (Latin/Spanish)

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What is a substitute for empanada dough? ›

What Can You Substitute for Empanada Dough? If you're looking for a shortcut, store-bought pie dough can be used to make empanadas. You may need to roll the dough out slightly thinner—it will produce a flakier result than typical empanada dough and is better for baking than frying.

Can you use a tortilla press for empanada dough? ›

The masa was quick and easy to make, and very forgiving to work with. Instead of rolling her dough, Gutierrez recommends using a tortilla press.

Explore More ›

What is empanada dough similar to? ›

The technique to making empanada dough is very similar to that of making pie dough. It conveniently uses pantry staples and ingredients you probably already have on hand. Butter is cut into flour and salt, then mixed with olive oil and a bit of cold water to bind.