BEEF EMPANADA

1 1/2 pounds  lean ground beef 

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 cup diced potatoes 1/4"

1 cup green peas

1 small packet raisins

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 or 3 splashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

pastry, room temperature (made earlier)

Saute the garlic in a medium pan over medium heat in oil for 1 minute, then add the onion and cook until translucent. Saute in the beef and cook until no longer pink or for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and raisins. Splash worcestershire sauce 2 times stirring and mixing everything together. Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup water.  

To form dough 

Put pastry on a lightly floured board.  Cut into 16 pieces. With the palm of your hands, shape each piece into a small ball.  Roll each small ball with a rolling pin into a round thin flat dough until about 5" in diameter. Repeat the process.

Make Empanadas

Fill the center of the flat dough with 1 tablespoon beef filling. Bring one side of the dough to the other side of the pastry and start pressing both edges together to seal them.  Now you either can either crimp the edge with the tines of a fork or fold with your fingers. Repeat the process.  With practice you can master the sealing and folding with your hands or crimping with the tines of a fork, whichever you prefer.

Bake

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. On a greased or parchment lined cookie sheet, arrange  empanadas  about an inch apart. Brush the top with egg wash.  Poke each Empanada with a fork to create a vents. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes, then  lower the temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for 15 minutes more. Let cool.

Yields  24 or more Empanadas

Tried and tested at Chris kitchen 05/11/2011