Argentine meal

Tonight I had a friend ask me for Argentine recipes so she can make some for her husband who served a mission there, too. So I spent some time translating these 2 recipes that I LOVE and wish to share them with you because they are delicious.

Make them. Love them.

Buen Provecho!

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Ensalada Rusa

1 lb potatoes
.5 lb carrots
1 can peas
4 hard boiled eggs
2 small onion
Mayonnaise to taste
Salt to taste

1. Peel potatoes and carrots and cut into small cube
2. Put the carrots in to boil first, at medium heat
3. After 10 minutes, add potatoes to pot
4. 5 minutes later, add the onions. When the potatoes are almost soft, take everything out and dump into colander. (Make sure you don’t let the potatoes go too long so they get soft and go into a puree)
5. Let the mix cool
6. While the vegetables cool, boil the eggs. When done, peel and cut into cubes.
7. When the vegetables are cold, add the eggs, peas, salt, and mayonnaise. (The mayonnaise should lightly coat all the vegetables, it should not be in excess)

* I think this was an acquired taste, but it’s kind of like a potato salad, I guess. I love it.

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Empanadas Riojanas

La Abuela Eusebia

1. About 1.5 Lbs ground beef (the recipe converts to 1.3 lbs, so anywhere between 1 and 1.5 is good)
2. 2 medium onions
3. 2 medium potatoes
4. 3 hard boiled eggs
5. Salt to taste
6. Pepper to taste
7. 1 Tbsp. paprika
8. Crushed Red pepper—(optional). This gives it some kick, so you can decide how much you like.
9. 2 green onions chopped;
10. 10 green olives chopped (these I really think make the empanada, but also may be an acquired taste)
11. Oil

Filling Prep:
1. Dice the onions and sautee in oil on low heat
2. When onions are clear, add the ground beef and salt. Dice the potatoes and add after about 10 minutes
3. In 5 more minutes add the condiments- paprika, crushed red pepper. Let the mix cook until the beef is done. It should be juicy
4. Aside from this mix, boil the eggs. Let the cool and dice into cubes.
5. Dice the green onions very small
6. When the meat filling is done, mix in the eggs, green olives, and green onions. Let cool (I don’t really let it cool much, I go straight to frying)

For the shells, I would recommend finding “tapas de empanadas” at a ethnic food store—I made my own dough once, but it really didn’t turn out well. I will leave that recipe in case you’d like to try it and succeed better than I (and please let me know if you do J)

Dough
2 pounds flour
Water with salt added
Put flour in a bowl and add water; mix so the dough isn’t too soft. Let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Cut into small rolls, and flatten into circles

Making the empanada:
Fill the round dough circle with a large spoonful of filling.
Wet the edges of the dough to seal. You can pinch them or fork the edges to make them pretty.
You can bake the empanadas on a medium heat, but I find them better fried. Just make sure there are no holes for the oil to get in…ew.