andrejthechef
ArgentinaBreadLunch

Empanadas Tucumanas

Savory pastries filled with hand-cut beef, a generous amount of onion and hard-boiled egg, sealed with a hand-pleated edge and baked until golden.

prep
1 h
cook
20 min
total
1 h 20 min
serves
6
level
medium
Empanadas Tucumanas, a dish from Tucumán

Tucumán, in Argentina's northwest, is considered by many Argentines the empanada capital of the country, and its version is built on hand-cut beef and a generous amount of slow-cooked onion, nothing ground, nothing rushed.

The braided edge, called a repulgue, is as much a point of pride as the filling. It takes some practice to get even, but a simple crimped edge holds the empanada together just as well while you work up to it.

Part of our 20 best Argentine recipes list.

method

  1. Melt the fat in a wide pan over medium heat and cook the onions and spring onions slowly for 15 to 20 minutes, until very soft and sweet, almost jammy.

  2. Add the hand-diced beef, paprika, cumin and chili flakes. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the meat is cooked through.

  3. Add the stock and simmer for 5 minutes, until most of the liquid is absorbed but the mixture is still a little juicy. Season with salt and pepper.

  4. Let the filling cool completely, then stir in the chopped hard-boiled egg. A cold filling is much easier to work with than a warm one.

  5. Place a spoonful of filling just off-center on each dough disc. Fold over into a half-moon and pinch the edges closed.

  6. Seal with the traditional repulgue: starting at one corner, fold a small triangle of the edge over and press down, then repeat along the curve, working your way to the other end, so the edge looks braided.

  7. Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F). Brush the empanadas with the beaten egg and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until deeply golden.

  8. Let them cool for a few minutes before eating; the filling holds a surprising amount of heat.

chef's tips

  • Hand-dice the meat with a knife. Ground beef is not traditional here and gives a completely different, softer texture than the little juicy chunks a tucumana is known for.
  • A properly made tucumana should run a little juice when you bite into it. A filling that is too dry has usually been overcooked, or had too much of its liquid cooked away.
  • The repulgue, the braided seal, is a real skill and takes practice. A simple fork-crimped edge works fine and holds just as well while you build up to it.
  • Chill the filling completely before filling the dough. Warm filling softens the dough and makes a clean seal much harder to pull off.