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Beef and chorizo empanadas with chimichurri
Makes 12 Starters and mains
For the filling
- 2tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1⁄2tsp ground cumin
- 1⁄2tsp cayenne or smoked paprika
- 1⁄2tsp dried oregano
- 400g minced beef
- 85g chorizo, finely diced
- 1tbsp tomato purée
- 85g roasted red peppers or Peppadews, drained and chopped
- 75g raisins
- 100ml beef stock
- 1⁄2tsp caster sugar
- 75g pitted black olives
For the pastry
- 350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1⁄2tsp smoked paprika
- 175g unsalted butter, diced
- 7tbsp milk
- 1tsp cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 medium egg
For the chimichurri
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1⁄2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 2tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2tbsp chopped coriander
- 1tbsp roughly chopped oregano
- 2tbsp red wine vinegar
- 150ml extra virgin olive oil
- squeeze lemon juice
Method
To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onion and cook over a low-to-medium heat until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further 1 minute. Add the spices and dried oregano and cook for another 30 seconds until aromatic, then add the beef and chorizo and cook over a high heat until browned. Add the tomato purée, cook for 1 minute, then add the red peppers, raisins, olives and stock. Add the sugar, season well, stir to combine, cover and cook over a low-to-medium heat for around 30 minutes, until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat, check the seasoning and leave to cool.
To make the pastry, sift the flour into a bowl, add the paprika and season well. Add the diced butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Combine 5tbsp milk with the vinegar, make a well in the flour mixture and add the liquid. Mix with a knife until the dough starts to come together, adding a drop more milk if needed. Very lightly knead the dough until smooth, and chill for at least 1 hour.
Divide the pastry in half and roll out one half on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of around 2mm. Using a cutter or saucer as a guide, cut out 13-14cm rounds. Gather any scraps or off-cuts together into a ball and re-roll and cut out more rounds. Repeat with the second half of the dough: you should get 12 pastry rounds in total from this.
Lay the pastry rounds on the work surface and divide the beef mixture among them, allowing roughly 1 heaped tbsp per empanada and spooning the mixture neatly into the middle of the rounds. Brush the pastry edges with milk and fold the pastry over to make neat semi-circles. Pinch the pastry edges together to seal, brush with milk and crimp decoratively between your fingers. Arrange the empanadas on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Beat 1tbsp milk with the egg, brush over the tops of the empanadas and chill for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and prepare the chimichurri. Tip the garlic, shallot, chilli, herbs, vinegar and a pinch salt flakes into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until combined and finely chopped. Add the olive oil and lemon juice and stir to combine. Pour into a bowl, cover and set aside until ready to serve. Brush the empanadas again with egg wash and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the pastry is cooked, golden-brown and the filling hot. Serve the empanadas hot, fresh from the oven, or warm, with the herby chimichurri sauce alongside.
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