Beef and Shallot Empanadas

Preparation Time 25 minutes plus resting

Cooking Time 30 minutes

The filling of these empanadas is a classic combination of Spanish flavours – beef, shallot, sultanas and olives. Deep fried until crispy, then finished with a salsa verde inspired shallot green sauce. Recipe courtesy of Isobel Fox.

Ingredients

For the dough

• 450g plain flour
• 1 tbsp salt
• 60g unsalted butter
• 1 egg
• 6 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp vinegar

For the filling

• 2 eggs, hard-boiled
• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 4 echalion shallots,peeled and chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 500g beef mince
• 1 tbsp raisin
• 1 tbsp pitted green olives, roughly chopped
• ½ a 400ml tin of chopped tomatoes
• Vegetable oil for frying

For the green sauce

• 1 small bunch of tarragon
• 2 large bunches of flat-leaf parsley
• 2 round shallots, peeled
• 3 tsp Dijon mustard
• 40g small capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped
• 200ml extra virgin olive oil
• 2tbsp sherry vinegar

Method

• Start with the dough- mix the flour, salt, and butter in a bowl by hand until it comes together as a homogeneous dough.

• In a separate large bowl, beat the egg, water, and vinegar, and add the mix to the flour dough.

• By hand, knead the mixture on a clean surface covered with a little bit of flour until it comes together as a rustic dough, and set aside, covered, in the fridge for one hour.

• To make the filling –peel and cut the hard-boiled eggs into thin slices. Heat the oil in a large panon a medium heat – cook the echalion shallots until golden brown, then add the garlic and oregano, and stir for two minutes. Add the beef mince and cook for10 minutes until browned. Add the raisins, olives, hard-boiled eggs, and chopped tomatoes.

• Meanwhile, make the green sauce by blitzing all the ingredients to a chunky texture in a blender.

• Heat 6cm vegetable oil in a large, deep-frying pan on a medium heat.

• Take the dough and roll out with a rolling pin to form a rectangular sheet around 2cm in thickness. Then, using a small bowl or cup, cut out circles around 12cm in diameter.

• Take a circle of dough and fill it with 2 tablespoons of the beef filling. Then, fold the dough over and mark the edges with a fork to close the empanadas.

• Add a few empanadas to the oil at a time – cooking for 4-5 minutes until golden brown. Serve on a large platter or board with the green sauce on the side.

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