Recipes to Share: Empanada

This is one of my favorite foods ever! : )

Ingredients:

For the stuffing:

1 kg white beans

1 kg ground beef

1/2 kg potatoes (diced)

1 kg tomato sauce

1/4 kg tomato paste

3 tbsp garlic (minced)

salt

pepper

For the dough:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup butter

1 cup vegetable shortening

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

3 tsp sugar

Procedure:

1. After cooking the beans in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes (this will make the beans soft), sauté minced garlic in a wok.

2. When the garlic turns golden brown, add the ground beef and continue to sauté until the meat turns white (it's cooked). Add salt.

3. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and white beans.

4. Let it simmer for a few minutes then add the diced potato. Add pepper.

5. When it is already cooked, drain the stuffing making sure that the tomato sauce is separated from the meat, beans, and potatoes.

6. While waiting for the stuffing to be well-drained, prepare the dough. In a bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.

7. Add the butter and vegetable shortening. Then knead the dough until the ingredients are well-combined. Form the dough into a ball.

8. Cut a piece of wax paper estimating the size to wrap the ball entirely, then dust it with flour.

9. Wrap the dough using the wax paper and place it in the chiller for 30 minutes.

10. Remove the dough from the wax paper.

11. Cut the dough into four pieces so that you won't have a hard time flattening a huge dough. Start each piece, and using a rolling pin, roll through the dough until it's flat. Dust the counter top with flour when you feel the dough becomes sticky.

12. Cut the dough into circles as big as a saucer. Then continue to knead and flatten until all of the dough is used.

13. On a plate, lay a piece of dough.

14. Add a spoonful of stuffing.

15. Slowly fold the dough forming a half-moon then slowly fold and press sides to close the opening.

16. Arranged all empanadas on a tray. You may bake it or fry the empanadas until golden brown.