Hannah Huezo's Family Fried Empanadas

 

RECIPE: FRIED EMPANADAS: BEEF AND VEGETABLES

INGREDIENTS- For Filling

-2 Tablespoons Oil

-½ White Onion, Chopped

-2 Cloves Garlic, minced

-½ of Green Bell Pepper diced

-1 Tablespoon Ketchup

-1 Tablespoon Mustard

-1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper

-2 Teaspoon Chicken Bouillon

-4 Hard Boiled Eggs cut in 5 pieces for a total of 20 slices

1 lb Lean Ground Beef

-Salt and Pepper for taste (if needed)

-1 8 oz bag of frozen vegetable mix (thaw)

-2 medium potatoes chopped in small pieces

-2 packages of Goya Empanada dough (thaw)

Instructions for Filling-

1. Heat oil over medium-low heat, add onion cook 8-10 minutes

2. Add garlic & pepper cook for another 8-10 minutes

3. Increase heat to medium and add the ground beef, season with ketchup, mustard, crushed red pepper, chicken bouillon, and cook crumbling beef into small pieces until browned

4. Add thaw mix vegetables and potatoes cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, try a piece of beef if flavor is needed and salt and pepper or more bouillon

5. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl to cool

Assembly:

1. On a clean flour dusted countertop separate the Empanada dough

2. Place 2 tablespoons of filling and a slice of egg on the center of the circle, leaving plenty of space around the border. Moisten the edges with water, then fold the dough over and match the ends together to form a semi-circle

3. Pinch the edges together and then seal the ends by crimping them with a fork or pinching and twisting/folding it over

HOW TO COOK (Fried)

Add several inches of oil to a pot and heat to about 365 Fahrenheit. Fry one or two empanadas at a time flipping once until golden brown on both sides (1-2 minutes per side) Place on a paper-towel lined plate

Story of the Fried Empanadas: 

When I have always told people my family loves doing empanadas, they always assume the Salvadorian empanadas which I understand completely since my family is from El Salvador. But, these empanadas my family makes are actually from Argentina with a mixture of Salvadorian which are called Fried Empanadas and these fried empanadas are made with ground beef with vegetables in them along with a slice of boiled egg. My grandmother had owned a very successful restaurant in a small area in El Salvador called El Puerto del la Libertad which slowly got overtaken by my grandmother’s family when she was forced to come to the United States. One day, my grandmother was growing tired of the regular Salvadorian Empanadas and began looking through books of food all over the world until she had found a particular page from Argentina, the fried empanadas. She got inspiration from that page and recipe, she begun to make those fried empanadas as she of course added certain spices and fillings from El Salvador to create my soon to be family’s famous and most delicious dish to the table. Since that day, the business grew and grew all just for the fried empanadas and to this day we still sell the fried empanadas, but we all always give thanks to my grandmother for creating my favorite dish and even though she’s not here with us, we are still forever grateful and continue making the fried empanadas in her memory.