Baked Empanadas with Minced Beef, Olives and Egg

Pastry

• 320 g Plain flour
• 1 tsp Fine sea salt
• 160 g Unsalted butter, cold
• 120 ml Water, cold

Filling

• 4 Egg
• 1 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 large Yellow onion
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Ground cumin
• 2 tsp Sweet paprika
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 450 g Minced beef
• 90 g Green pitted olives

Chimichurri-style dip

• 30 g Fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp Red wine vinegar
• 6 tbsp Olive oil
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 tsp Dried oregano
• ½ tsp Chili flakes
• ½ tsp Fine sea salt

To finish

• 1 Egg

1. Make the pastry: put the plain flour and fine sea salt in a bowl, then rub in the cold unsalted butter until it looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized bits. Add the cold water and mix just until a dough forms. Shape into a disc and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Hard-boil 4 eggs: cover them with water in a saucepan, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Drain, cool under cold running water, then peel and chop. Set aside.
3. Make the filling: heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Finely chop the yellow onion, then cook with a pinch of fine sea salt for 8 to 10 minutes until soft and lightly golden. Crush in 2 garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the minced beef and cook over medium-high heat, breaking it up, until browned and any liquid has cooked off. Stir in the ground cumin, sweet paprika and black pepper, then cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Take off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes so it does not melt the pastry.
5. Roughly chop the green pitted olives and stir them into the cooled beef mixture with the chopped hard-boiled eggs. Taste and add a little more fine sea salt if needed. Keep the filling at room temperature while you roll the pastry.
6. Heat the oven to 200°C (390°F) and line a baking tray. On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry to about 2 to 3 mm thick. Cut out 12 circles about 12 cm wide, re-rolling the offcuts as needed.
7. Spoon filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a clear border, then fold over to make half-moons. Press the edges to seal, then crimp with a fork. Arrange on the tray.
8. Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the empanadas. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Rest for 5 minutes before serving warm.
9. Make the chimichurri-style dip: finely chop the fresh parsley and crush the garlic clove. Stir together with the red wine vinegar, olive oil, dried oregano, fine sea salt and chili flakes if using. Serve alongside the empanadas for dipping.

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