Beef Picadillo Empanadas

Heat the olive oil in a large, wide frying pan or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6–8 minutes until soft and beginning to colour. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the ground beef and break it up thoroughly with a wooden spoon or spatula — you want fine, even crumbles with no large clumps. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up the meat, for 6–8 minutes until the beef is browned all over and any liquid it releases has evaporated. Do not rush this step; properly browned beef has far more flavour than grey, steamed meat. Add the ground cumin, ground cinnamon, and dried oregano and stir through the meat for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the diced tomatoes, diced potato, chopped olives, raisins, and the chipotle chilli and adobo sauce if using. Stir everything together well. Season generously with salt and black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook for 18–22 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potato is completely tender and the mixture is thick and almost dry — there should be very little liquid remaining; a wet filling will make the empanada dough soggy and difficult to seal. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spread the picadillo onto a large plate or tray and leave to cool completely before filling the empanadas — a hot filling will make the masa dough sticky and difficult to work with and will cause the empanadas to split during baking.

While the picadillo cools, make the masa dough. In a large bowl, combine the masa harina, fine sea salt, and olive oil (or lard). Mix together with your fingers until the fat is evenly distributed through the flour and the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the warm water gradually — start with 250ml and add more a tablespoon at a time — mixing with your hands as you go. The dough should come together into a smooth, pliable ball that is soft but not sticky, similar in texture to Play-Doh. It should not crack when you press it or roll it, and it should not stick to your hands. If it cracks, add a little more water; if it sticks, add a little more masa harina. Knead the dough gently in the bowl for 1–2 minutes until smooth and uniform. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or cling film and leave to rest for 15 minutes — the rest allows the masa to fully hydrate and become more pliable and easier to shape. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan / 400°F / Gas 6) and line two large baking trays with baking parchment.

Divide the rested masa dough into 12 equal portions — each should weigh approximately 45–50g. Roll each portion into a smooth ball between your palms. To shape each empanada: place a ball of dough between two sheets of cling film or inside a zip-lock bag (this prevents sticking without adding extra flour, which would dry out the dough). Press down with a flat-bottomed pan, a tortilla press, or the heel of your hand to form a round disc approximately 12–13cm in diameter and 3–4mm thick — thin enough to fold without cracking, thick enough to hold the filling without tearing. Peel back the top sheet of cling film. Place a generous tablespoon of the cooled picadillo filling in the centre of the disc — approximately 2–3 tablespoons; do not overfill or the empanada will be impossible to seal. Leave a 1.5cm border of dough around the edge. Using the cling film to help, fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly together with your fingers to seal, then crimp the edge by folding and pressing small pleats along the sealed edge — this is the traditional repulgue crimp and it both seals the empanada and looks beautiful. If the edges crack, dip your finger in water and press the crack closed. Place the sealed empanada on the lined baking tray. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Brush each empanada generously with olive oil or avocado oil — coat the entire surface including the crimped edge. The oil is what gives the baked empanadas their golden colour and slight crispness; under-oiled empanadas will bake pale and dry. Place the trays in the preheated oven and bake for 22–25 minutes until the empanadas are golden, firm to the touch, and the edges are beginning to colour. Rotate the trays halfway through baking for even colour. The empanadas are done when they are a deep golden yellow and feel set and slightly crisp when tapped — they will firm up further as they cool. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before serving — they are extremely hot inside straight from the oven. Serve warm, 3 empanadas per person, with fresh salsa verde or tomato salsa alongside for dipping and lime wedges for squeezing over. The empanadas are best eaten the day they are made while the masa shell is still slightly crisp; they soften as they sit. The picadillo filling can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated; the shaped, unbaked empanadas can be frozen on a tray and baked from frozen at 200°C for 28–30 minutes.