Spicy Beef Empanada filling

by Jessica Otano

Did you know we are now selling our tapas? Yup you can purchase our empanada tapas and fill them with what ever your heart desires!!! 

Tapa instructions:

Pull them out of the freezer place them in the fridge to thaw. Once thawed (good idea to take them out over night or bright and early in the am so you can use them with in 5 hours approx.) Once thawed open package and pull them GENTLY apart onto a floured surface. 

SPICY BEEF FILLING

Ingredients

  • Beef filling:
  • 400 g/ 14 oz ground beef
  • 1 onion, about 75 g/ 2.6 oz
  • 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
  • ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 small jalapeňo, more or less to taste
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes, optional and to taste
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 egg for brushing the empanada if you are planning on deep frying omit this.

Instructions

Beef filling:

  1. Mix the ground beef, very finely chopped onion, chopped parsley, and coriander, smoked and sweet paprika, very finely chopped jalapeňo, ground cumin, and coriander, chili flakes, and salt.
  2. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and fry the mixture for about 2 minutes, breaking the lumps of meat with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato paste, stir well, and continue cooking the filling until the meat is cooked through about 5 minutes. Let cool.

  3. Fill and bake:

      1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking trays with parchment paper. 
      2.  Place about 1 tablespoon filling in the center of the discs/tapas
      3. Slightly lift both parts of the circle from the table (while the heavier part of the empanada containing the filling still rests on the table) and press the edges together. You can slightly wet the edges with some water if you feel that they don't keep together properly.
    1. Place the empanada on the table again and crimp the edges by pressing them with a fork. or pinch them all around and bring the two corners together likea circle and pinch together again, looking like the image above. Place the empanada on the baking tray. Repeat with all the remaining dough and filling. this filling should fill approx 24 empanadas
    2. Brush the empanadas with beaten egg. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Serve.
    3. HOW TO STORE
      • These spicy empanadas keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days.
      • They can be reheated in the oven at about 180 degrees Celsius/ 360 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes or until hot.
      • You can also freeze unbaked empanadas. Place them on a baking tray or another tray that fits in your freezer. Let them freeze well, then transfer the empanadas to freezer bags of freezer containers.
      • By freezing them on the baking tray you can make sure that the empanadas won’t stick together and freeze in a clump.
      • Frozen empanadas keep for about 3 months in the freezer and can be baked directly from frozen as indicated in the recipe, but adding an extra minute or two to the baking time.
      • Cooked empanadas can also be frozen and reheated in the oven, although the pastry might lose some of its flakiness. However, if you have made more than you can eat, freezing them is still a very good idea.

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