Argentina - Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce

Argentina, a land of cowboys and cattle. This week I embraced their love of meat and made the classic Argentine dish, beef empanadas with chimichurri sauce.

Argentina is in southern South America and is the world’s eighth largest country. It encompasses immense plains, deserts, tundra, forests, and thousands of miles of ocean shoreline.

The Pampas (grassy plains), were home to Argentinian’s symbol of national identity, the gaucho: a nomadic horseman and folk hero, similar to the american cowboy. For Argentinians, the gaucho represented courage, self-reliance, individualism and love of the land. Gauchos were usually mestizos (mixed European and Indian ancestry). They lived in small mud huts and spent their time gambling, drinking, playing the guitar or in pursuit of cattle and wild horses.

Many songs and stories were written about the gaucho’s intrepid adventures. The most famous being the epic poem ‘Martín Fierro’ by José Hernández. This national epic of Argentina used the gaucho as a symbol against corruption and of Argentinian national tradition, against European tendencies.

Argentina’s cuisine primarily centres around one simple word - beef. It is the country’s most valuable export commodity and its national dish. Argentina consumes more beef per capita than any other nation except for Uruguay. All parts of the cow are eaten, with nothing going to waste. Beef became a successful commodity for Argentina after 1876 when refrigeration techniques allowed the storage and shipment of fresh meat. While the traditional way to eat beef is asado (barbecue), Argentinian cuisine has been strongly influenced by Mediterranean flavours due to the Spanish colonisation in the 16th century, and immigration of Italians during the 1800s.

Chimichurri Sauce

• ¾ cup chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ cup chopped fresh oregano
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tbs water
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp chilli flakes
• ¼ tsp pepper

Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender.

Dough

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs sugar
•  ½ cup butter
• 1 egg yolk
• ½ - 1 cup of warm milk

Whisk together sugar, salt and flour. Combine the butter with the flour (either with a pastry cutter or in a food processor) until well combined.

Mix in the egg yolk and milk in small amounts, until the dough binds together (you may not need all the milk).

 Form the dough into two disks and chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Empanadas

• 500g minced beef
• ½ cup butter
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 Tbs paprika
• 1 Tbs tomato paste
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ¾ Stock
• 2 boiled eggs
• ½ cup grated cheese
• 1 egg yolk

Preheat oven to 220° degrees

Melt the butter in a pan, add diced onion, crushed garlic, paprika, tomato paste, chilli powder, cumin and cayenne pepper, and cook until onion is soft.

Add minced beef to the pan and cook until brown.

Add stock to pan and simmer until liquid is reduced and the mixture is dry.  Add chopped boiled eggs and cheese.

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll out until about 3mm thick. Then cut the dough into 12 cm diameter circles.

Add approximately 1 Tbs of filling to each dough circle, fold circle in half and then secure the edges either with a fork or in empanada style (see this video I found on how to fold them).

Brush the empanadas with the egg yolk and cook in the oven for 25-30 mins or until golden brown.

Makes about 18-20 small empanadas. Serve warm with Chimichurri Sauce

✸✸✸✸

This meal was so delicious. I was amazed at how many Peter and I ate! We just kept going back for more. The dough turned out really well and had a nice crunch. But I recommend the thinner you roll the dough the better. The beef was really delicious and well spiced. The sauce was zesty and refreshing with a herb, garlic, vinegar flavour. Both Peter and I agree that the sauce compliments the empanadas really well.

This meal takes a while to make (2 hrs) but I think they are worth it! I also think that empanadas would be a great snack to serve at parties, and you could easily make them beforehand, freeze them and them cook them on the day.

189 meals to go. Next stop on my world tour: Armenia!