Nico's Cook In, Cook Out airs Wednesdays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
Make: 12-15 Empanadas
Time: 1 hour
For the empanada dough
- 750 grams of plain flour
- 120g of butter or beef tallow
- 1 tsp of salt
- 200 ml of warm water
For the beef filling
- 2 rib eye steaks, thinly sliced into bite sized pieces
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 75g green olives, halved
- 2 cooked baby potatoes, diced - make sure to use a waxy potato
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 red pepper, diced
For the corn filling
- 600g fresh corn on the cob
- 100g shredded mozzarella
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 50g butter
For the Mojo Sauce
- 1 green pepper
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 4 cloves of garlic
- Big handful of fresh mint leaves
- Handful of coriander
- 1 or 2 mild green chillies
- Salt and pepper
Method
For the empanada pastry
- Mix the salt into the warm water
- Pour the flour into a bowl
- Add the butter/fat rubbing it in with your hands until it resembles breadcrumbs
- Slowly pour in the water bit by bit until the dough starts to form
- Knead the dough until smooth
- Let the dough sit in the fridge for 30 mins, until firmed up a little.
- Flatten the dough out with a rolling pin, thin but not too thin!
- Using a small plate cut out discs for the empanadas - 10cm/12cm
For the beef filling
- Heat some oil in a pan and sauté the beef until seared on all sides, add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened then add in the peppers and paprika.
- Cook out for a minute or two and then add a little water, approx 100mls.
- Simmer until the water has evaporated - about 10 minutes then remove the pan from the heat and stir through the olives and chopped cooked potatoes
For the corn filling
- Grate the corn on the cob with a grater
- Add the butter to a saucepan
- Soften the onions and then add the corn
- Cook until the corn starts to colour.
- Add the cheese and stir until creamy then season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
Assembling the empanadas
- Make sure the fillings are cool before you start assembling your empanadas
- Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of the filling onto each pastry round and fold them over the filling to make a semi-circle. Press the edges together with a fork - or holding the empanada in one hand, use your other hand to pinch and fold the edge of the dough to create a rope-like effect.
- Brush with beaten egg, then place onto a large, lightly greased/floured tray and bake at 190C/375F for about 25-30mins until golden and crisp.
- Or to Air fry, place in a single layer, in batches as needed 180C/350F 8 to 10 minutes, turning halfway or until golden.
Making the mojo sauce
- Put all of the ingredients for the mojo sauce in a blender and blitz until smooth.
