Difficulty 2/5
Ever since I was little this beef stew has been a CLASSIC dish at my peruvian home. Homemade stew, made with love, for a Sunday lunch with the family. Meat that falls appart, with a sauce that goes SO nicely with rice, and usually with sweet potato on the side. But it’s so nice that I don’t get why it’s usually considered an average dish, it’s just because us peruvians are used to consider it a dish only to be eaten at home. I made the stew the night before my dinner and then the next day I did the dough that I got from Gaston Acurio’s Facebook, cut the cheese and avocado and that’s it! Into the oven 😀
Portions: 20 medium sized empanadas (3-4 bites)
Ingredients:
For the silveside stew:
– 1.2kg silverside (I used a whole free-range veal’s silverside)
– 20ml vegetable oil
– salt and pepper to taste
– 50g red onion
– 50g carrots
– 50g celery
– 50ml soy sauce
– 1 Lt water
– 10g fresh rosemary leaves or 5tbsp dried rosemary (ideally fresh)
– 30ml white wine vinegar
For the dough:
-600g flour
– 340g unsalted butter
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp salt
– 240ml water
– 1 egg
Rest of the filling:
– 1 avocado
– 1 lemon
– cheese of your choosing (I used a peruvian gouda)
Procedure:
1. As I told you, I did the stew the night before my event and so I’ll start with it here, too. Clean the silverside taking all the silver skin surrounding it. Keep this as it has extra meat we’ll use to flavour our stew. Seal it in the pan with vegetable oil until very nice and golden. Season it.
2. Remove it from the pan along with any excess oil, and add the onions. Cook them until translucent. Do this properly or the sauce will be very acidic. Use the water that the onions let go to scrape those bits of golden meat stuck at the bottom of the pan. This is were most of the flavour comes from!
3. Add the silver skin with some meat on them and cook until golden. Then add the rest of the vegetables and make them golden them also.
4. Add the vinegar and let it evaporate completely. Using this liquid, scrape off all the bits left at the bottom of the pan.
5. Add the soy sauce, 1Lt of water, silverside and rosemary. I know on this picture there are two of them but it’s only because I did another one for lunch on Sunday :P!
6. This will cook for 3 hours on the stovetop (with the lid on) on med-low heat, I recommend turning it every 20min. Isn’t it pretty!?!?!?
7. Take out the meat and reduce the sauce (only if needed) by boiling it until nice and thick.
8. Pass the sauce through a colander pushing hard so that the bits of vegetable that are very soft by now also go through.
9. While warm (it’s easier) tear the meat with a couple of forks. Then chop the meat up with a knife just in case an long strings remain; you don’t want to be fighting with your empanada! Mix the meat with the sauce and then let it cool before filling up the empanadas.
10. Now for the dough, I’ll teach you how to do it using a food processor. If you want to see this technique done by hand, watch it here. Blend the flour, salt, baking powder and cold butter, cut in cubes and straight from the fridge in the food processor. Alternatively, rub the butter together with the flour, salt and baking powder using your hands until sandy. Make sure the butter and your hands are really cold if you use this method. Stop either method when it looks like sand.
11. Add the water (also cold, ideally from the fridge) and blend until it comes together. If doing it by hand, make a hole in the center of the sandy flour and add the water. incorporate using a spatula. Finish by hand kneading it slightly only making sure that everything is evenly incorporated.
12. Let the dough rest for an hour in the fridge wrapped in cling film
13. Now the assembly. Use a rolling pin to stretch the dough to 2mm thick and then cut circles to your desired size. I used a bowl, so you don’t need a cutter at all.
14. Put the meat, then the cheese and finally the avocado (previously drizzled with lemon juice and salt) on the lower half of the dough.
15. Use the egg white to stick the top on and then press around with a fork with a bit of flour so it doesn’t stick. Then, because (as you know) I’m a perfectionist, I cut the edge again so that it’s perfectly round and not jaggedy as it is after using the fork.
16. Paint with the egg yolk mixed with a bit of water on top so it becomes golden in the oven. It goes in at 180C on baking paper for about 25min or until golden on top and somewhat firm when you touch the top (doesn’t bend to touch).
That’s it! I hope you like these, they are truly amazing! Once again, happy birthday Peru!
