Brazil - Empanadas

Ludmila made some spectacular empanadas tonight, using Olga’s recipe from our Lausanne days! Beef pork blend with onions, garlic, micro-diced zucchini and paprika, chopped olives, and a variety of herbs. A buttery shell that’s melts into your mouth! Yumm!

INGREDIENTS - Filling

• 300g package of ground beef/pork mix.
• 2 medium onion chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic diced
• 1/4 zucchini finely diced
• 1/2 pepper finely diced
• 1 boiled egg, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
  
• 1/4 teaspoon Italian herbs (whatever)
  
• 5-6 olives, finely chopped
  
• 10-15 raisins (or dried cranberries)
  
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt / pepper to taste

RECIPE - Filling
(Scroll down for the Shell recipe)

1. Sautée onion in olive oil on a medium burner setting.
   
2. Add the meat, and when it's almost ready, add the garlic
3. Once the meat is done (not dry), put aside in a bowl.
   
4. Sautée veggies with an onion - don't overcook them.  Add the boiled egg, oilves, and raisins (or dried cranberries) to the veggie mixture.
5. Add the cooled meat to the veggies and mix thoroughly.
   
6. Let the mixture cool before stuffing the empanadas.
   

RECIPE - Shell (proudly borrowed)

We borrowed the shell recipe from here.
FYI - we made HALF the recipe shown, and it served for 24 mid-sized empanadas, so measure based on how many hungry mouths you have to feed!