Peruvian empanadas: beef, lime and icing sugar
Peruvian beef empanadas are small golden pastries filled with a juicy stuffing with onion, garlic, ají amarillo, cumin and broth. They are traditionally served with icing sugar and a squeeze of lime for a typical Peruvian sweet and savory contrast.
Pour: 24 mini empanadas
Ingredients
For the stuffing
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 ají amarillo, seeded and chopped or 2 tablespoons of ají amarillo paste
- 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 400 g beef cut into very small cubes
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 25 cl beef broth
- Salt
- Pepper
Option for a more traditional filling
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into pieces
- 1 handful of chopped black or green olives
- 1 to 2 tablespoons raisins
For the dough
- 500 g flour
- 400 g cold butter, diced
- 3 tablespoons cold water
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- For the crust and serving
- 1 beaten egg
- Icing sugar
- 1 lime quartered
Préparation
- Prepare the stuffing: heat the oil in a frying pan.
- Add the onion and ají amarillo, then fry for a few minutes.
- Add the garlic, beef, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Pour in the beef broth and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce is reducing.
- The stuffing should remain juicy, but not runny. Let cool completely before garnishing the empanadas.
- Prepare the dough: mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
- Add the cold butter and sand with your fingertips until you get a sandy texture.
- Add the cold water gradually and knead just enough to form a homogeneous dough.
- Form into a ball, cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface.
- Cut out circles of 6 cm for mini-empanadas or 10 to 12 cm for a more classic format.
- Place a spoonful of cold filling in the center of each circle. Optionally add a little hard-boiled egg, olive or raisin.
- Lightly brush the edges with beaten egg.
- Fold into a half-moon, seal with fingers or a fork, then place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brown the empanadas with the remaining beaten egg.
- Bake at 180°C for 15 to 20 minutes, until the empanadas are golden brown.
- Sprinkle lightly with icing sugar when you remove from the oven.
- Serve hot or warm with lime wedges.
Notes
The filling must be cold before assembly, otherwise it may melt the butter in the dough.
For a more Peruvian version, add a piece of hard-boiled egg, a few olives, and a little raisin to each empanada.
Icing sugar and lime are not decorative: they are part of the sweet-salty-tart contrast typical of Peruvian empanadas.
With 400 g of butter for 500 g of flour, the dough is very rich. For a less rich version, reduce the butter to 250 or 300 g and adjust the cold water gradually.
