Recipe: Tasty Picadillo for Empanadas

Picadillo for Empanadas. Pastelillos de Carne - Puerto Rican Picadillo Empanadas. The best toddler-birthday-party food I've ever had were picadillo empanadas. I loved the mixture of tastes all in a neat package - and it was easy to make and double the recipe.

The leftovers can be used for making Papas Rellenas, served over rice or frozen for your next batch of empanadas. Heat the oil in a heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Remove empanada discos from packaging and bring to room temperature. You can have Picadillo for Empanadas using 12 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook that.

Ingredients of Picadillo for Empanadas

1. It's 1 pound of ground beef (80/20 or 70/30 is fine - I wouldn't go much leaner than that).
2. Prepare 1/2 cup of finely chopped onion (the fine chop is important because you don't want large pieces tearing your pastry).
3. Prepare 1/2 cup of finely chopped bell pepper (you can use any color, but I like the red or orange because they're sweeter and look prettier in the filling).
4. Prepare 2 Tablespoons of minced garlic (3 to 4 medium cloves).
5. You need 1/4 cup of raisins.
6. Prepare 8 of green pitted olives, cut in thirds.
7. Prepare 3 oz. of tomato paste (basically half of one of those small cans).
8. Prepare 1 teaspoon of salt.
9. You need 1 teaspoon of cumin.
10. It's 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.
11. You need 1 of bay leaf (or 1/2 teaspoon crushed bay).
12. Prepare of neutral oil.

Puerto Rican Picadillo Recipe - fragrant, flavorful ground beef stew with olives and raisins. Makes an easy and no-fuss lazy weeknight meal or for parties served as stuffing for bell peppers, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and empanadas. There is a Cuban restaurant in the Miami Airport called La Carreta. They serve picadillo there, but this has SO much more flavor - I love the sweetness of the raisins against the capers & olives, along with all the spices.

Picadillo for Empanadas step by step

1. In a 10 or 12 inch pot or pan, sweat the onions, peppers and garlic in 1 Tablespoon of oil over medium low heat until the onions are translucent. This should take 3 to 4 minutes. (Sweating them requires a lower heat than saute, but this results in sweeter and softer vegetables which will also yield better to the dough. Plus the garlic won't burn even if you throw it in at the same time as the onions and peppers.).
2. Push the refrito to the side of the pan and add 1 Tablespoon of oil to the center. Give the oil about 10 seconds to heat up and then add your tomato paste right on top of it (this will caramelize the tomato and give it sweetness and depth), along with the cumin, black pepper, bay leaf and salt..
3. Stir to incorporate all the ingredients in the pan, and add the ground beef, spreading it evenly over the surface area of the pan. Because you're simmering the beef at a lower heat, you'll find that you don't have to constantly break up the beef as usually needed when cooking at high heat. Other than a light sizzle right when the meat hits the pan, it shouldn't be sizzling and/or actively bubbling. If it is, turn the heat down a touch..
4. Simmer the ground beef for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in raisins and simmer another 1 or 2 minutes. (I like to add the raisins toward the end so they can retain their shape and texture. Also, if olives are your thing, this is where you'd add them.).
5. At the end, you'll see your picadillo swimming in a little puddle of fat. I drain the fat by pushing all the picadillo over to one side of the pan and resting that side on the burner so the fat can drain to the lower part of the pan. In about 10 minutes, most of the fat should be drained, and you haven't dirtied another dish in the process..

Brush the edges of the round with the beaten egg. Fold a side of the circle over the filling across the other side. These baked Pork Picadillo Empanadas have a ground pork filling stuffed into a refrigerated biscuit. This is the easiest empanada recipe ever. Serve with a side of salsa for an unbelievable appetizer, lunch, dinner, or gameday snack.

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