Beef Empanadas

 After all these years, I decided to try a new empanada recipe, and I quite like this one.

Ingredients

Crust

2 1/2 cups Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

4 oz Butter, chilled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes

1 Egg

1/3 cup Ice water

1 Egg, beaten for egg wash

Filling

1 Large russet potato, peeled, diced into 1/4 inch cubes

3/4 lb Beef, ground

2 tbsp Olive oil

1/2 Medium onion, grated

1 Small carrot, grated

1 Rib of celery, finely minced

2 Cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Chili powder

1 tsp Ground cumin

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

1/2 cup Peas

3/4 cup Beef broth

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Directions

1. To make the pastry dough pulse the flour and salt in a food processor. Add butter, egg and ice water. Pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Shape the dough into a ball. Tightly cover the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. While your empanada dough is resting prepare the filling. Fill a medium size stock pot ¾ full with water and bring to a boil. Add the cubed potato to the pot and boil the potato until tender, about 3 minutes. While potatoes are boiling, brown the beef in a saute pan over medium heat along with the onions, celery and carrots. Once potatoes are cooked drain and add them to the ground beef mixture and cook until beef is cooked through and vegetables are softened.
3. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and beef broth to the beef and vegetable mixture, sautéing 1 minute longer until spices are fragrant. Add and peas and simmer over medium heat until everything is well incorporated and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove dough from refrigerator and divide it into 10 equal part—roughly 2.2 oz each. Roll each piece of dough very thin on a lightly floured surface until you have a circle roughly 7” wide. Working with one prepared dough at a time add a heaping ⅓ cup of filling onto one side of the dough.
5. Wet a pastry brush with egg wash and dampen the inside ¼ inch edge of the filled dough. Fold the dough in half. Using a fork, firmly press the edges together. Repeat this process with remaining dough and filling and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Preheat oven to 375°F and place rack into the center of the oven.
7. In a small bowl mix together an egg with 1 tbsp of water, brush each empanada with egg wash until coated. Bake for 35 min or until golden brown.