Ah, those yummy empanadas! You can't – and definitely shouldn't – avoid feasting on empanadas during your visit to Patagonia. Years back, you could only find empanadas with beef fillings, but lately other empanada fillings such fish and vegetables have become more and more popular. Empanadas can be either fried or baked and served as either appetizers or the main meal. Here, we'll give you the recipe for baked empanadas with four different fillings to choose from. The beef filling is still the most popular and a must in your choice of fillings. We'll also give you the recipe on the delicious chimichurri – a cold dressing usually served as a sauce for a roast or grilled meat, but we highly recommend it served with your empanadas as well. ¡Buen provecho! Empanada Baking Dough Beef Filling Fish Filling Cheese Filling Fresh Corn Filling Chimichurri Empanada Baking Dough 2 cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup fine pork lard (or vegetable oil) 1 small egg, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon salt warm water Lightly beat egg with salt and paprika, adding enough water to make _ cup liquid. Work together the lard/oil and flour, stirring in gradually the liquid to make a soft and pliable dough. Knead dough until it's smooth and elastic (add more warm water if needed) and let the dough rest for 3 minutes. Using flour on your table/rolling pin, roll out the dough to about 1/4 cm thickness and cut into rounds (use a cup or small bowl when cutting to shape the rounds) about 4-6 inches depending on the size of empanadas you're making. (You may have to re-roll the dough, just note that the more you "work" the dough the less elastic and easy to work with it becomes. so try to get as many rounds as possible from the first round). Once you have your circles, lift them carefully of the table if they stick, before you rather generously add filling to the center of the dough. Wet the edge of the circle with water, fold dough over the filling so the edges meet, press with fingers to seal. Use the tines of a fork to give the edge a pattern and seal tightly. Place the empanadas on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven about 400 degrees until lightly browned. Serve very hot. (Note – you could make the empanadas in advance and bake them or reheat them just before serving.) Makes 10-15 empanadas depending on size. [back to top] Beef Filling A little under 1 pound lean ground beef 1/4 cup fine lard or vegetable oil 3/4 cup chopped scallions 1 large tomato, chopped 1 small sweet green pepper, chopped 1 tablespoon chopped garlic and parsley mix 1/2 teaspoon oregano 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 tablespoon or more seedless raisins 2 tablespoons green olives, chopped 2 hardboiled eggs, coarsely chopped salt and pepper to taste Place ground beef in a bowl and cover meat with boiling, slightly salted water. Let stand for a few minutes until beef changes color, then drain and let cool completely. Heat the lard/oil in a deep frying pan, and fry the scallion until it turns bright green, add tomatoes, then the pepper, garlic/parsley mix, and lastly oregano, cumin and paprika. Blend well and remove from heat. Let cool completely and then add the raisins, olives and hardboiled eggs. Mix with the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Fill empanadas. There should be enough filling for about 10-15 empanadas. [back to top] Fish Filling 2 cups of any white fish, boiled, boned, and cut into small pieces 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 medium sweet pepper, cut in thin strips 1 large tomato, seeded, peeled and chopped 3 tablespoons of olive oil 1 tablespoon tomato paste 3 tablespoons boiling water 1-2 tablespoons bread crumbs and chopped garlic/parsley mix Make a rather thick sauce with oil, onion, sweet pepper, and tomato, adding tomato paste, paprika and salt. Blend fish with the sauce, add the bread crumbs and garlic/ parsley mix and adjust for salt. Add boiling water (1-3 tablespoons) only if sauce comes out too thick. Adjust for salt. Fill empanadas. There should be enough filling for about 10-15 empanadas. [back to top] Cheese Filling 2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese 2 eggs, beaten separately 1 tablespoon flour salt and nutmeg to taste Beat egg yolks thoroughly until lemon colored, add a little salt and nutmeg, and carefully fold the flour into the mix. Blend the grated cheese into the egg yolk mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff points are formed and carefully fold in the beaten egg whites to the yolk mixture. Fill empanadas. There should be enough filling for about 10-15 empanadas. [back to top] Fresh Corn Kernel Filling 2 cups fresh cooked corn kernels, cut off the cob 1 cup thick white sauce 1 beaten egg with a pinch of salt, nutmeg, and freshly ground white pepper Optional – 2-4 tablespoons scallions fried in butter Mash the corn kernels a bit in a bowl. Mix with the white sauce. Beat the egg and mix with salt, nutmeg, pepper (and some scallions fried in butter if you would like to add a little more "spice" to the filling!). Fill empanadas. There should be enough filling for about 10-15 empanadas. [back to top] Chimichurri 1/2 cup oil 1 cup warm water 1 cup vinegar ( or 1/2cup vinegar and 1/2 cup wine) 1 teaspoon salt 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped 1 scallion or green onion, chopped 1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped 1 small sweet pepper, finely chopped 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper or chili powder 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano leaves 2 bay leaves, broken in small pieces The ingredients should be finely chopped, but still easily recognizable and in no case reduced to a smooth paste. You'll get the best result by thoroughly mincing and chopping, then mixing with the liquids, and putting it all together in a bottle. Shake the bottle occasionally during the next 12 hours or more before use. Note - this is a fairly thin sauce. If you prefer a thicker sauce (more like a salad dressing), use less oil/water/vinegar. Also, some people prefer the usual 2 measurements of oil to 1 measurement of vinegar/wine/water mix. It's up to you - but no matter how you mix it, it'll be delicious. [back to top] For more information and reservations, please contact: Mountain Travel Sobek 1266 66th Street, Suite 4 Emeryville, CA 94608 USA Toll Free (USA and Canada): 1-888-831-7526 Phone: +1-510-594-6000 Fax: + 1-510-594-6001 Email: info@mtsobek.com