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1
Make the pastry
15 minutes + 30 minutes resting
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Mix the flour (400 g), salt (6 g), baking powder (4 g) and sugar (5 g) in a large bowl. Add the oil (30 ml) and rub it in with your fingertips until the flour looks like coarse crumbs. Pour in the water (180 ml) a little at a time and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft, not sticky. Cover with a clean cloth and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
If the dough feels dry, add water a teaspoon at a time — a soft dough rolls thin without tearing.
Done when: Dough smooth, soft and rested.
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2
Cook the beef picadillo
18 minutes
Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F)
Heat a little of the frying oil in a wide pan and cook the onion (120 g) and green pepper (80 g) for 3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic (12 g) and cook for 1 minute more. Add the ground beef (450 g), breaking it up with a spoon, and cook for 8 minutes until it is browned all over and reaches 71°C (160°F). Stir in the tomato paste (30 g), oregano (2 g), cumin (2 g), paprika (3 g), black pepper (2 g) and salt (4 g), and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring, until the pan is almost dry.
Keep the heat up at the end so the liquid cooks off — the filling must be dry, not saucy.
Done when: Beef browned through to 71°C (160°F), pan almost dry.
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3
Cool the filling and add the cheese
10 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Tip the picadillo onto a plate and spread it out to cool completely, about 10 minutes. Once it is cool, mix in the mozzarella (100 g). Taste and add a little more salt if it needs it — the filling should taste well seasoned on its own.
Never mix the cheese into hot filling — it melts, clumps and leaks out during frying.
Done when: Filling cool, cheese mixed through evenly.
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4
Roll, fill and seal
15 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each one into a thin circle about 15 cm across. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling onto one half of each circle, leaving a 1 cm border. Fold the dough over into a half-moon, press the edges together, and crimp firmly with the tines of a fork. Trim any ragged edge with a knife if you like a neat shape.
Roll the dough thin — thick pastry stays doughy inside while the outside burns.
Done when: 8 neat half-moons, edges firmly fork-crimped.
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5
Fry until golden
12 minutes
Deep-fry 175°C (350°F)
Heat the oil (500 ml) in a deep, heavy pan to 175°C (350°F). Fry the empanadas 3 or 4 at a time for 2 to 3 minutes a side until deep golden brown and blistered, turning once with tongs. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper.
Do not crowd the pan — the oil temperature drops and the empanadas soak up oil instead of crisping.
Done when: Deep golden brown and blistered, crisp to the touch.
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6
Drain and serve
5 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Let the empanadas drain for a minute, then serve at once with lime wedges and pico de gallo on the side.
Serve them hot — the cheese is at its best melted and stretchy in the first few minutes.
Done when: Empanadas hot, crisp and drained, lime and salsa on the side.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the Dominican empanadas at once, while the pastry is still crisp and the cheese inside is melted — fried empanadas go soft as they cool. Put the lime wedges and pico de gallo on the table and let everyone squeeze and spoon to taste.
Dominican Republic
3h 15m
