I adopted this recipe from both my mom Ines’ recipe and from award-winning Peruvian Chef Gaston Acurio. My mom’s beef empanadas were delicious and flaky, and included hard-boiled eggs and raisins. Gaston Acurio’s do not include these ingredients, but they are delicious. I like to serve them with a Peruvian Huancaina cheese sauce on the side for dipping. But for this recipe, I made a cilantro, cheese, lime and jalapeno dipping sauce. I include this recipe as well. We had ours while watching the last game of the World Cup, and they were a hit! Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1-2 lb diced beef tenderloin or premium ground beef (you can also use ground chicken)
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 4-6 cloves of chopped garlic
  • 3 teaspoons aji panca chili paste (red chili pepper paste) or 2 deveined and chopped aji amarillo (Peruvian chilis and paste you can find at Latin markets)
  • 3 tablespoons raisins
  • 1 cup beef stock
  • Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • Cumin, to taste

Instructions

  1. Make the filling: In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat, cook meat until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces, 5 to 7 minutes.
    Add onion and garlic; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in chili pepper and raisins. Add beef stock and cook over medium until mixture has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cumin. Let cool.
  2. Make the dough: In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your fingers, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add just enough cold water so dough comes together.
  3. Form the empanadas.
  4. Cut each ball into four equal pieces. Cover with plastic; let stand until slightly risen, 20 minutes. Shape into balls.
  5. On a floured surface, roll out each piece of dough into an 8-inch round. Divide filling evenly among rounds, spreading it over half of each and leaving a ½-inch border.
  6. Brush the border of the bottom halves with water; fold the top halves over the filling to enclose completely. Press edges to seal with your fingertips, then crimp firmly with a fork.
  7. If desired, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, 2 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic; freeze in plastic bags.
  8. To bake fresh or frozen empanadas, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with egg wash, avoiding crimped edges. Bake until golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through, 30 to 40 minutes.

Dipping Sauce

  • 5 sprigs of cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 round queso fresco, or 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 jalapeno deseeded
  • 1 lime
  • Salt and pepper to taste

In a blender, mix ingredients until smooth; add more sour cream if the sauce is too thick and blend again.

Serve empanadas with dipping sauce on the side, and lime wedges, using cilantro as a garnish

*For vegetarians, as a filling, substitute beef with sauteed and chopped crimini mushrooms, onions, crumbled cheese and chopped aji amarillo or aji panca