Empanadas de Argentina, by Rosa. Our extended family

We lived in Buenos Aires from 2006 to 2009. Our address was Quintana Street, 39, 5A. How could I  forget it? La calle Quintana is one of the streets that takes you to the famous Recoleta cemetery where Evita Peron is resting in peace. Who is Evita Peron? No, isn't Madonna. The real Evita was first an actress and then the wife of Juan Peron, who became president of Argentina in 1946. She was a smart woman who used her position as first lady to fight for women's suffrage and improving the lives of the poor. She was a legendary figure in Argentine politics like Imelda Marcos in Philippines. Evita died in 1952.  

I cannot summarise 3 years of my life in a few sentences but I will tell you through this blog about the moments I remember, good and bad ones, the people I have met, the places I have been and the food I had had. In this post I will write about our "extended family" of Buenos Aires.

Juan and Ana Maria...
In Argentina we had a portero, Juan and his wife Ana Maria, and a yaya Rosa. In countries like Australia this type of job, a doorman, is replaced by an automatic door or by some kind of alarm system. But in Spain and Argentina it still exists, which is lovely.

Juan used to do the maintenance of the building and acted as a "security guard". In Manila there are real guards with real guns, big ones . I wouldn't joke with them.

Aurelia played with Juan every morning before she went to a little school, Sweeties, near our house and every afternoon before and after the park. Sometimes she helped Juan to water the plants or took her doll and played with him downstairs while waved people coming into the building. 

Rosa...

Rosa was the yaya of Aurelia like Brenda is here of her, Gab and baby Juanan.  Poor Brenda has two more to look after. I could say a lot about her but there is something very exceptional Aurelia remembers, the nana song she sang to her every time she put her to sleep, hugging her: "arroro mi nina, arroro mi sol, agarro un pedazo de mi corazon". Aurelia doesn't have many memories about her 2 years in Buenos Aires but she still asks me to sing this song before she closes her eyes.

One day we will go back to Buenos Aires and will have another churrasco like we had in Rosa's house the week before we left. We had a fantastic day with her big family plus some  unexpected neighbors in the meal who wanted to gossip about Rosa's employer and his family. : we ate delicious beef, we drank red wine and Aurelia played with all the kids.

I tell you about this particular lunch because it was a farewell for us from Rosa, not the other way around as Nick and I planned. Rosa gave us a lesson of how to be more humble.

A few days before the lunch, Nick and I offered her to buy something pricey for her. We were grateful for all her hard work during those 3 years she had been with us and Aurelia. We asked her first if there was something she needed or wanted. She acted a bit strange to our question and didn't give us an answer. Many days passed on and Rosa was still in silence. We couldn't understand why. Finally, she came to us, a bit nervous and said "senor, senora, lo unico que me gustaria es que vinieran a mi humilde casa a tomar un churrasco y que conocieran a mi familia. Eso es lo que quiero" ( I would like to invite you to my house to have a barbacue and meet my family. that's what I wish ).

Extended family...
Juan and Rosa were an important part of Aurelia's life in Buenos Aires and they cried so much when we left that it was like we were taking their "daughter" away. They were and will be our extended family wherever we are, like Pepe and Pilar were in Spain; Noami and the guards were in Honiara; and Brenda, Jeniffer and Frank are here.

Rosa was from El Chaco, one of the poorest areas of Argentina. She was a very good cook and used to make these empanadas almost every week. We always had some in the freezer for lazy nights.

Makes 50

Start the night before so the meat is flavourful and the dough has gained consistency after resting.

To make the dough

• 1.3kg plain flour
• 200g spelt flour
• 3 eggs, beaten; egg wash: 3 egg yolks llightly beaten with 1 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 250ml dry white wine
• 200g pork lard, melted or shortening

1. Place the flours in a bowl with the hook attachment or in a food processor. Add the eggs and mix well. Add the sugar, lemon juice and wine until incorporated. Add 1 tbs salt and lard, and stir in the mixture, gradually adding 375ml water until it forms a dough. Knead dough on a floured surface until smooth. Cover in plastic wrap.

To make the beef filling

• 3 tbs of olive oil
• 1kg onions, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic gloves, crushed
• 1 red capsicum, chopped
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground chilli and 2 tbsp oregano
• 1kg mince (double minced if possible)
• 2 cups beef stock 

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook onions stirring occasionally for 20 minutes and add the red capsicum, and cook until soft. Season with salt, pepper and spices, and stir to combine. Remove from the pan and set aside. 
2. In the same pan, Add beef and brown it, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Add the cooked onion, the stock and cook covered for 1 hour. Check for season and if there is liquid, reduce the filling uncovered for 15 minutes. 

1. Bring dough and meat to room temperature and preheat oven 220. 
2. Divide the dough into 4, and work with one piece and cover the rest.
3. Using a pasta machine, roll out each piece into flour and then through the 6 setting or 2mm thick.
4. Cut out rounds with a bowl. Place one heaped tablespoon of beef filling in the centre of each round. 
5. Brush edges with water, fold over to enclose the filling and press edges together to seal.
6. Pinch the edges of the dough together and fold the pinched section over to create a twisted edge. 
7. Repeat with the rest of the pieces of dough.
8. When you finish, place the empanada on lined trays of baking paper, and brush the top with egg wash.
9. Bake until the pastry is golden, about 25 minutes

• Note: 
• If you want to freeze them, stop in the step 8, place them in a plastic container. When they are frozen, it will be easy to transfer them into a plastic bag to save space in the freezer.
• If you are in a hurry, use puff pastry instead of the recipe for the dough.

Buen provecho!

Even if you follow this recipe, the empanada won't taste the same than Rosa's empanadas, unless you go to Argentina and buy the best beef in the world.