Beef empanada

There are dishes that just by looking at them we know everyone will like. The one Luisa brings us today, author of Cocinando con mi Carmela, is one of them: a traditional meat pie recipe. A recipe you will prepare easily and quickly, and that will surely be a hit at home! She made it in the Revol dish, with that distinctive line from the iconic French brand (you can see more products here).

Today I bring you a recipe that is a complete classic, meat pie or meat pasty as we call it. The good thing about this recipe is that it is very handy, at least for me; and if you prepare it with store-bought pastry even more so, although I recommend that if you have time you make it homemade, it’s much tastier.

We all know that an empanada is a dough that we can fill with meats, vegetables or fish — we can play with many combinations. Its name comes from the Spanish empanar, which means to enclose something in dough or bread to bake it in the oven. This origin goes back to the custom of filling breads with provisions or vegetables that shepherds took with them when they went out to the fields. Over time the dough ended up being baked with the filling, and later different doughs were made to wrap the filling. This type of dish gave rise, for example, to the famous Italian calzone or Galician empanadas.

In the Middle Ages, this type of preparation was used because it was a way to preserve meat: with the cooking inside the dough it lasted several days. In Spain, at that time they were made with wheat or rye flour and filled with game meat or with fish, other times with leftovers from stews.

Our most famous empanadas are those from Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria, although they are consumed in all regions, and you can also find the typical hornazo filled with chorizo in Salamanca or Ávila.

When preparing it I used a porcelain ovenproof dish that is also super pretty and goes straight to the table, the one from Revol. You can also use it for cakes or, as we do at home, to serve fruit at the table.

Now let's go on to the preparation, which is very simple.

In the photo, Revol dish and glasses, and Pallarès carbon steel knife.

Ingredients

250 gr beef
250 gr pork
100 gr smoked bacon
1 fresh onion
Nutmeg
250 ml cream
Salt and pepper
2 round sheets of shortcrust pastry
Egg to glaze the pastry

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 180º, while in a frying pan we brown the onion and the bacon. When ready, add the beef and pork, season with salt and pepper, add the nutmeg and brown. When it is half browned, add the cream, leave about 15 minutes stirring from time to time.
In the dish we use for the oven, place the shortcrust pastry, prick the entire surface with a fork so it doesn't puff up. Spread the filling evenly, with the help of a slotted spoon in case it releases a little water from the cream.

Now, take the remaining sheet, cut it into strips and place them as you see in the picture, first in one direction and then crosswise, leaving a one-centimeter gap. When it's ready, join the edges with the strips and brush with the beaten egg, put in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye on it, we know every oven is different and it can burn on top. Once it's ready, let it cool, it can be eaten warm.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do at home.