Chef Carla Dilorenzo

Ingredients

• 2 ½ pounds Certified Angus Beef ® ground beef
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons dry oregano (Argentinian preferred)
• 2 tablespoons crushed red pepper (Argentinian preferred)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 ½ tablespoons garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon white pepper
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and diced
• 40 empanada dough discs
• 40 green Spanish olives, optional
• 2 additional eggs (for egg wash)

Instructions

1. In a large saute pan melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, diced peppers, fresh garlic, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, garlic powder, paprika and white pepper. Sear and stir until onions begin to soften, 6-8 minutes.
2. Increase heat to medium high and add ground beef to veggies. Stir until beef is browned and fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
3. Put mixture in a large colander over a bowl to drain excess liquid, about 2 minutes. Beef and vegetable blend should stay juicy but not overly saturated. Let sit at room temperature or refrigerate 30 minutes to cool.
4. Preheat oven to 375F. Remove mix from refrigerator and stir in diced hard boiled eggs.
5. Lay out 6-8 dough discs on work surface at a time and fill each with 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons of mix. In a cup of water, dip your finger just enough to wet the inside edges of the dough to seal the dough. Begin to close your empanadas, adding 1 olive per empanada (optional).
6. Place empanadas on parchment-lined baking sheets with a little room between each one.  In a small mixing bowl separate yolks from whites, reserving yolks; beat yolks together. With a pastry brush, paint the empanadas with the egg yolks. Bake 12-15 minutes until golden.