Ingredients

Pastry

• 450g flour
• salt
• 90g lard
• 200-225ml water

Filling

• 2 tbsp olive oil or lard
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 350g fresh chorizo sausages, meat removed from their casing
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 boiled egg, chopped
• 3 tbsp green olives, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp raisins
• maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper

to cook

• milk

Method

Pastry

1. Pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Rub the lard into the flour. Stir in the egg and enough water to make a soft but not sticky dough.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Place the dough in a clean bowl cover and allow to rest for 1-2 hours.
3. Make 16-20 equal sized balls of dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into 8-10cm circles. Fill.

Filling

1. Preheat an oven to 200C.
2. Melt the lard or add oil to a frying pan. Sauté the onion in the pan until transparent. Add the paprika, dried chilli, garlic and meat from the sausages. Sauté for a couple of minutes so that the meat is just cooked and the ingredients combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. When cool light mix in the egg, olives and raisins. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. To Fill: Place a generous tablespoon of the filling on one half of each circle. Fold over the other half and pinch the pastry together to seal. Use a fork around the edges to imprint a marking. Place on a well greased oven tray.

To Bake

1. Brush the empanadas with a little milk. Place on the centre shelf of the preheated oven and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp.

To Serve

1. Delicious served hot or cold on their own with a glass of red wine or served as a light meal accompanied with a salad..