Chef Freyka's Kitchen

✦ Tried & Loved ✦

Peruvian Beef Empanadas

Adapted from ¿Qué Cocinaré Hoy? — the beloved Nicolini recetario — and Mis Mejores Recetas de la A a la Z by Teresa Ocampo — with Chef Freyka's own modifications

This recipe comes from my good old ¿Qué Cocinaré Hoy? — the famous Nicolini recetario written by Teresa Ocampo, whose name, curiously, never even appeared on its cover — with a few personal modifications of my own.

✦

In Honor Of

Teresa Ocampo

The Señora of Peruvian cooking — author of the Nicolini recetario ¿Qué Cocinaré Hoy? and Mis Mejores Recetas de la A a la Z. The voice that taught generations of Peruvian families to cook.

Find Teresa's Book → Read My Review →

Really want to cook Peruvian and learn? Get the book — even in Spanish. Just pair it with a translation app and dive in. It's worth every page.

✦ The Story

Where do I start? My heart jumped — because she was who I wanted to be.

I don't think I ever said it out loud, but I loved cooking from the time I was very little. Anyone who watched me closely would have seen it: at 11 in the morning I was already waiting with a pen and notebook in my hand, trying to write down, word for word, everything she said — the ingredients, the way she did each step. I loved her little mannerisms when she talked on the show. (They were reruns; I didn't even know it back then.) I dreamed about her so many times.

I didn't get to cook much in those days, except on Sundays. But I saved all my notes, and little by little I cooked every one of them. Later I got the Nicolini recetario, ¿Qué Cocinaré Hoy?, and cooked so many more — with no idea, until just a few years ago, that it was you who wrote it.

My mom taught me to cook, and so did my mother-in-law, who added French technique to our creole and the bits of Italian my mom had shown me. But you, Teresa — you made me read. You made me hungry for the cooking knowledge that gave my life its course and its purpose.

And now I get to thank you properly, because I am happy to say it: I am a Chef. And like you, I teach people to cook — and I keep no secrets to myself.

Thank you, Teresa, for making one hour of almost every morning happy. And for giving me forever happiness.

Makes30 small

Oven400°F

Bake15–20 min

This dough will please any Peruvian or Argentinean family. In Peru we bake them; in Argentina they deep-fry them. If you plan to eat them cold, baked is best — and healthier too. Have fun with it.

🇵🇪 Peru bakes · 🇦🇷 Argentina fries

I. Ingredients

For the Dough

Amount	Ingredient	Prep notes
1 lb	Flour, all-purpose, unbleached
¼ tsp	Salt
60 g	Butter, unsalted	At room temperature
65 g	Crisco
¾ cup	Whole milk	Warm
1	Egg yolk

For the Filling

Amount	Ingredient	Prep notes
1 lb	Ground beef	Browned with a little salt & granulated garlic; drain the fat if needed
1 medium	Red or yellow onion	Small diced
1 tbsp	Garlic paste
2 tbsp	Peruvian hot red peppers	Or substitute "Red Chile Sauce" by Salsitas Mendoza
4 tbsp	Tomato paste
1 tsp	Dry oregano	Crushed; add more to taste
1 tsp	Smoked paprika	More to taste
1 tsp	Ground cumin	More to taste
To taste	Fine-ground pepper
To taste	Salt
4	Hard-boiled eggs	Each cut into 8 pieces
½ cup	Kalamata olives	1 per small empanada; 2–3 on a large one
2	Eggs	For assembling & egg wash

II. Method

The Dough

Choose one method — by hand or food processor.

By hand

In a large mixing bowl, place the flour and salt and make a well in the center.
Add all the remaining dough ingredients to the well and, using only your fingertips, work the dough quickly (remember — this is a pastry, not a bread). Form into a ball.
Let rest 15 minutes, then roll out and cut into circles. Gather the scraps and press them together — don't knead them back into a ball. Cover and let rest while you fill the first circles. Repeat until the dough is used up.

Food processor

Place the flour and salt in the food processor and pulse a couple of times.
Add the butter and Crisco; pulse until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
Add the remaining dough ingredients and pulse continuously until the dough comes together into a ball.
Turn out onto a floured board and, with your fingertips, form into a ball. Roll and cut into circles as above.

The Filling & Assembly

Make a sofrito: heat a sauté pan over medium-high, add a little oil, and heat through.
Add the onion, a bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Cook low and slow until tender and caramelized.
Stir in the garlic until fragrant.
Add the tomato paste, oregano, smoked paprika, and cumin. Add a splash of water if it looks dry.
Stir in the browned ground beef with a little water; cook, stirring constantly, until the sofrito and beef blend into one.
Season with salt and pepper. Keep it juicy but not liquid — if it's too wet, the empanadas won't seal.
Cool the filling completely before assembling.
Roll and cut the dough into your chosen size. Brush each circle with egg white, then place filling, a piece of hard-boiled egg, and a Kalamata olive in the center. Fold into a half-moon and press the edges, sealing with a crinkle (repulgue) motion.
Place on a floured sheet pan. Brush the tops with an egg-yolk-and-milk wash (or yolk only).
Bake at 400°F for 15–20 minutes, until golden.

To Serve

Dust the warm empanadas with powdered sugar and serve with a slice of lime.

✦ From My Kitchen

I used to teach a class called Street Food Empanadas, where I showed an Ecuadorian Empanada de Viento, a Cuban meat pie, a peach turnover, and — of course! — the Peruvian Beef Empanada. So if one day I announce that I'm teaching a class, you, my friend, make sure to tune in!

Teresa Ocampo recetario — From my library

And I'm always here. Leave a comment on the recipe or reach out anytime — I'll do my best to help you cook it. ♡

— Chef Freyka ♡

Chef Freyka's Kitchen

Peruvian Beef Empanadas

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Peruvian Beef Empanadas

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