Pulled Beef and Suet Pastry Empanadas

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Being a chef everybody always asks me what my favorite dish is to make or my favorite section in the kitchen, well it’s definitely making canapés as it’s the closest to my favorite way of eating, sharing small plates of food bringing everybody together and of course getting to taste a wide variety of foods, at least this way I don’t need to beg people to try a bite of whatever they ordered.

Pulled Beef and Suet Pastry Empanadas

Makes 20

Suet Pastry

300g self raising flour

pinch of salt

100g beef suet

70g butter

Ice water

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, shred the suet and chop up the butter.

Rub the flour with the fats between your hands until well mixed. Add ice water one teaspoon at a time until the pastry comes together, don’t knead as it will make the pastry tough. Cover and rest in the fridge until needed.

Pulled beef shin

500g beef shin

15ml sunflower oil

1 pnt PnP soup mix or (1 potato, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk)

1 Knorr beef stock pot

10ml white wine vinegar

2 tomatoes

1 avocado

few sprigs coriander

Salt and pepper

30ml olive oil

1 egg

Season the beef shin, brown on both sides in a pot in a little oil, add roughly chopped carrot and celery stalk and brown. Cover with water, add 1 Knorr beef stock pot and bring to the simmer.

Peel the potato, cut in half and allow to cook in the liquid but remove when cooked through and use in the empanada mix.

Simmer the beef until very tender, skimming the water often.

Meanwhile make a tomato and coriander salsa by cutting the tomato into cubes and dress with 10ml white wine vinegar and 15ml olive oil, season and toss with freshly chopped coriander.

Make a rough guacamole by chopping the avocado and adding 6ml white wine vinegar and 10ml olive oil, season to taste.

When the shin is tender, remove from the liquid and shred into a bowl, cube the cooked potato and add to the beef, season and add chopped coriander.

Roll out the suet pastry until 0.5mm thick, cut 5cm rounds with a cutter, place 5ml beef mixture in the centre, egg wash the edges and fold in half closing it along the top, crimp with your fingers gently and place on a greased tray.

Bake in the oven on 180˚ for 15 – 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with tomato salsa (pico de gallo) and guacamole.

This may also be made with leftover stew or curry, revamped the family will never know.

Recipe and Picture Copyright by Tamsyn Wells