Recipes for Change: The Celebration of Overalls from Argentina to Texas

Mishpuchah is a Yiddish word meaning family but in the broadest sense. It’s used to describe extended family and friends who are family. When I met Andrea in 8^th grade, little did I know that we would become each other’s mishpuchah. But, I did know that I wanted to be friends with the girl who was standing there in overalls with a lot of pockets and more attitude than she could fit in them.

Through the years, our friendship took root and flourished. I think we found similarities in being two kids trying to fit in, at a particularly awkward time in any kids life, while trying to embrace those things that made us different – foreign born parents (hers being from Argentina) and different languages spoken at home among other things. I loved going to her house because seeing her father’s artwork displayed in their home coupled with his sense of design reminded me of my father. And, her mom, Susana, who had a thriving dental practice, brought a sense of calm and comfort to her surroundings and those around her.

Hot from the oven empanadas with wine makes for a delish
Friday night.

But what Susana was most known – and begged for – in her family was empanadas. As Andrea says “While growing up, this recipe was part of every holiday, semi-holiday … both my parents worked so getting to spend a day with my Mom making these was the best of both worlds; made only better when my Grandmother visited ... This was a full morning of filling, dough and assembling. The whole house smelled delicious and we could not wait to try them, usually burning our tongues. This recipe has celebrated every birthday goal reached, holiday, long weekend, it helped snag two son-in-laws and comforted us at the saddest of losses.”

Snagging a son-in-law is what made us mishpuchah. Before my wedding, I told one of my husband’s close college friends that he and Andrea had to meet. I just knew they would hit it off. And that they did – less than a year after our wedding, Richard and I were attending their wedding. Andrea’s parents were glowing – probably more than she was. While the band was taking a break, tango music played to fill the time. The dance floor cleared other than Andrea’s parents. They danced on every inch of that dance floor and for a few minutes, we saw the spark that brought them together, the courtship that ensued and the glue that bonded them through the years. A group of Andrea’s girlfriends, me included, watched them from the side of the dance floor, our mouths open. After the dance, Susana came to us and said “you don’t know a man until you tango with him.” I. Might.Have.Passed.Out.

Years have passed since our weddings and in that time, we have traveled together, celebrated professional milestones, supported each other during moves across county, rejoiced in the birth of our children and mourned together. So last night while I was testing Susana’s empanada recipe, it was hard for me not to think of Andrea and her parents. As she said “This is the kind of recipe that brings all of my life’s memories together both making them, eating them and now watching my kids devour them and all with memories from Argentina to Texas.”

Meat Empanada’s*

Ingredients:

Meat filling:

2 lbs. ground beef, 80% lean
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large yellow onions, diced in ¼ inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons paprika (I used 1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika and 1 tablespoon sweet paprika)
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 ½ cups pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste

Dough:

2 lbs or 7 cups all purpose flour
½ lbs or 2 cups Crisco
2 cups warm water with 2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 eggs

What to do:

Using a large cast iron skillet (or regular frying pan) over medium heat, add the 3 tbs olive oil. When the olive oil is heated, add the ground beef.
Saute the beef, breaking up the pieces into crumbles, until all of the pink is gone.
Add the minced garlic and raw onions to the beef along with the tomato paste.
Cook until the onions are cooked through and transparent.
Add the cumin, paprika and crushed red pepper to the meat mixture.
Cook mixture until the spices are well incorporated, about 5 minutes.
Take off the heat and add the green olives and eggs.
Salt to taste.
Let the mixture cool slightly and refrigerate. Susana recommends refrigerating at least a few hours but said it tastes better if you refrigerate overnight (which is what I did). Once you take the meat mixture out of the refrigerator, taste and adjust seasonings.

Spices measured and ready to be added to meat mixture

Meat mixture that's been simmering before eggs and olives are added

Chopped eggs and olives ready to go into meat mixture

For the Dough:

Add the flour and Crisco in a large bowl. With your hands, mix the Crisco and flour until blended.
Create a well in the middle of the Crisco and flour mixture
Add 1 egg in the well along with 1 cup of the warm water with salt.
Mix ingredients together until a clumpy dough starts to form. Place the dough on a clean surface knead it until it is well blended and moderately hard. If the dough is too soft, add a little more flour. Keep the extra water and salt mixture on-hand because it might be needed as you start working and rolling the dough for the empanadas.
Form a ball, flatten slightly, cover with a clean tea towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Combining ingredients in the dough.
I kept additional salted water on hand
to add to the dough a tablespoon at a time if needed.

Working the dough to finish combining.

Pulling it all together:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Take ¼ of the dough and roll it until thin.
Using a 4 inch in diameter bowl, cup or round disc cookie cutter, cut circles.
Place 1 tablespoon of meat filling in the center of each dough disc.
Fold it in half and press the edges using your fingers to create a tight seal. You can use a fork or I found that rolling or curling the edges worked well in creating the seal. I also found that it became easier to make the rolled edge as I continued making the empanadas. As they say, practice makes perfect!
Place the empanadas, about an inch apart, onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet. I used Pam and it worked fine.
Whisk the remaining egg in a bowl and brush the egg wash onto the empanadas.
Cook for 15 minutes or until golden brown.**

I used a ramekin to punch out the discs.

This first discs and working the dough again to roll and create more

Adding the beef mixture.

A sheet ready to go into the oven.

The edges.

This recipe makes about 50 empanadas if using a 4 inch in diameter discs. For several of the empanadas, I cut the discs to be 6 inches in diameter which, along with a green salad, would make a great main meal.

*One of the challenges of recipes that are passed down is that they aren’t written down. This is Susana’s recipe that she emailed me but I suspect she’s made empanada’s so often that she can just feel her way through the recipe. As I was testing this recipe, I wrote a few notes which I've included in this recipe. Also, you will have meat filling left over. If you don’t want too much filling left over, cut the meat filling recipe in half. But, I will post another recipe that Susana gave me for an easy casserole – almost like a Shepherds Pie – that you can make with the meat filling. It’s so versatile that you can use it in a multitude of recipes. Or, make more dough and more empanadas! My stomach was grumbling after I read about all of the different options on Laylita and I'll definitely try a few of these in the future. Check it out.

** My good friend, Sherrill, came over to help me make these (because what better thing to do on a Friday night!) and we decided to fry up some of them because hey, what’s bad about fried dough and meat? We heated about 2 cups of vegetable oil in a deep pan until the oil sizzled when tiny piece of dough was dropped into it. We added about 3 empanadas (the amount of empanadas you can fit into the pan for frying depends on the size of your pan but don’t crowd them). We fried them until golden brown, took the empanadas out and let them drain on paper towels. They were delicious. We also thought a fresh, herbal chimichurri sauce would be a great addition. The empanadas were eaten quicker than we could get them out of the oven so we didn’t have a chance to make the chimichurri. I’ll do that first next time (especially because it’s great with grilled meats and so much more) and here’s the recipe I will use.

Just about ready to come out of the oven.

When the edges aren't sealed well, the empanadas will split open
and although they still taste great, they don't look as pretty.
Really spend time closing the edges before putting the empanadas
in the oven. Some recipes suggest putting the tray in the refrigerator
prior to cooking to help seal the edges.

Fresh from the oven. They didn't last on the plate too long.