Chilean empanadas de pino

Empanadas are a favorite South American snack, baked or fried. It seems that many cultures have their own version of these tasty dough pockets. Pino is the most traditional empanada filling in Chile. It’s a mixture of seasoned ground beef, garlic, onions, black olives, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs, and it’s delicious.

They can be made on the fly, but both the filling and dough are best if left to sit refrigerated overnight.

Dough

The dough used in this recipe can be baked or fried, and its sweet flavor goes well with rich fillings. If you’re going to fry them, exclude the egg yolk from the recipe and roll the dough out to about a 1/4 less in thickness. Sift the flour into a bowl and stir in the salt and sugar. Blend in the butter and lard with a pastry cutter or two knives until it’s mixed fairly well.

Whisk the egg yokes with 3/4-cup water and stir in 1/2 of the mixture a little at a time until the dough starts to blend smoothly. Continue to knead the dough until it is smooth, adding more water and egg mixture in small increments, if necessary. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. At this point, the dough should be smooth and soft. This recipe makes 10 – 12 large empanadas.

Filling

Cook the onions and garlic in butter or lard until soft. Add ground beef, chili powder, cumin, paprika, beef bouillon; and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring and crumbling beef, until browned. Add flour, and continue cooking an additional 5 – 10 minutes. Remove the mixture from heat and allow it to cool. Pino is best left to “rest” overnight for the most flavor. It and the dough can be left in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Putting it all together

Taking golf-ball-sized pieces of dough, roll them into smooth balls and set them aside for 5 minutes. Now, roll each ball on a floured surface in a circle roughly 6 inches in diameter and about 1/4 inch thick. You can also roll out a 1/4-inch-thick sheet of dough and use a bowl or round cutting template to press out the circles. Place the circles of dough in your hand, and cup your hand.

Spoon in a small amount of filling, olives, and raisins, being careful not to touch the edges. Don’t overfill. Dip your finger in water and lightly run it around the edges. Fold the dough in half, encapsulating the filling, and press the edges together firmly, stretching and thinning slightly as you press together. At this point, you can use the tines of a fork to seal the edges or create the braid by hand.

Baking

Place the sealed empanadas on a baking sheet and brush them generously with egg wash (egg yolk and a little water). Bake them in a preheated oven at 375 degrees until they’re puffy and golden brown (roughly 25 minutes). Remove them and let them cool before serving. Consider serving them with homemade tortilla chips.

Photo source: Flickr