Mar 24, 2011

Empanadas


Hubby served a two year service mission in Argentina. He always fondly remembers the place, the people, and OF COURSE the food. Steak this, homemade pasta that, chimichurri, and don't forget the empanadas.

For years I have been trying to perfect the art of the empanada. Once I even tried making the dough from scratch...HUGE mistake. For years I failed making a yummy empanada. Success didn't come until we found actual empanada shells at a specialized food store.

The shell made ALL the difference.

The shells we now religiously use are made by Goya. We have only been able to find them at specialty stores (in other words not your local grocery store).

I know it might be a pain to find them, but find them you must. Try out these little fried pockets of goodness, you must. Really once you have the shells, the possibilities of fillings are endless.

I am going to share our version of the traditional filling.

Empanadas

1-2 packages of Goya empanada shells (meant for frying)
1 lb of ground hamburger
1 med onion, minced
2-3 hard boiled eggs. sliced
2 Tablespoons of sugar

*further options for TRULY traditional empanadas
handful of raisins
green olive, one per empanada


oil, for frying

Cook ground hamburger. Add eggs, onions, and sugar (add optional ingredients here too)



Place a large spoonful of mixture in the center of a shell. With your finger, dampen the edges with a small amount of water.


Fold the shell in half, making sure to seal the edges. Crimp the edges, by starting at one end and folding over small sections of the edge. Keep folding on itself until your empanada looks like this.



Heat oil. Fry 2-3 empanadas at a time. Fry until golden brown. Just a minute at the most.


Now serve and watch them disappear.

Once you got the hang of it, you can fill these babies with just about anything. We have even done cream cheese and cinnamon and sugar. DE-lightful.

15 comments:

Taylor {Sew Much Love} said...

ooooohhhhhh I had them once from this lady from Paraguay and have craved them ever since!! I guess I just need to find the right shells!

The Super Sanchez Family said...

ever tried peanut butter and marshmallows?! do it, i double dare ya.

Sharon said...

sounds and looks soo yummy!! I am going to have to try these!

jaenell said...

Argentinian food is delicious, your husband is right!

Do you think these would work well with ground turkey or chicken? I don't eat red meat anymore, and I am trying out my favorite dishes with the substitution.

Abbie said...

Looks yummy. I will have to look for those shells.

Anonymous said...

YUM!! These sound so gooood. I will have to try these with ground turkey.

Jessica said...

oh yum!! I've only done fruit empanadas...these look so good!

mk said...

those look so yummy! i bet my husband will love them! thanks for the recipe! :)

monique
www.yogaandpencilskirts.blogspot.com

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

Okay, whew, lets see...

Jaenell- ground turkey, chicken, both work. Pretty much anything in cased in a fried shell of goodness works.

Oh Elyn my friend...how could I not think of pb and mallow!

EVERYONE else...glad you like the recipe.

Nyree said...

looks deeeee-licious!

Sabra at Sew a Straight Line said...

I worked with a girl who would make these and bring them in all the time. My mouth started to water when you post pulled up. Don't miss the job, do miss those empanadas. I may have to check out a speciality food store my next trip to civilization.

Ange said...

I have been wanting to try these. Thanks for the tp on the shells. I'll keep a look out for them.

Dancing Gems said...

If you do want to go the actual dough route, we use Arena Pan. It is a corn meal product that you just have to combine with water and salt to taste. My Fiance is from Venezuela and that is what they use there. They fry up great and are equally delicious.

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

THANKS Cara, that is great to know!

Christina said...

I am 1/2 Cuban and I LOVE EMPANADAS!!!!! AMAZING!!!!

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