Baked Beef Empanadas

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion, finely diced
1 Carrot, finely diced
1 Celery Rib, finely diced
2-3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 pound Ground Beef
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
¼ teaspoon Cumin
¼ teaspoon Black Pepper, or to taste
8 ounces Can Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons Water, divided
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
10 Empanada Discs (13 ounce package)
1 Egg, slightly beaten

Directions:

Make the beef filling

• Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Raise the heat to medium-high, add the ground beef, salt, dried oregano, cumin and black pepper to the skillet. Stir to combine the ingredients well, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or a spatula as you go. Cook the beef for about 5 minutes until browned, stirring frequently. - If using our lean ground beef -  it is already cooked so all you need is to heat up on the skillet with the above ingredients.
• Add the tomato sauce, water and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Stir well to combine. Lower the heat to medium-low and cover. Keep the sauce at a simmer, if it’s boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a bit. Cook the ground beef for 12-15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked out. We don’t want it too saucy.
• Taste the beef filling and add salt to taste, if needed.
• Remove the skillet from the heat, uncover and allow the ground beef to cool. Give it a good stir every once in a while so that the steam escapes and it cools a bit faster.

While the Beef is cooling - set up for building your empanada

• Prepare the egg wash by beating the egg and 1 tablespoon of water.
• Line the baking sheet with the parchment paper.
• Get the pastry brush, fork and paring knife ready.
• Preheat Oven to 350°F

Build your Empanada

• Working with one empanada disk at a time, add about 2 heaping tablespoon of the ground beef, just a little off center.
• Using a pastry brush, moisten around the edges of the dough with the egg.
• Fold the empanada round in half, press the edges together gently. Use a fork to seal the edges together.
• Use a paring knife or other sharp tip, make 2-3 small slits on the top of each empanada to vent. Set the empanada on the lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
• Brush the tops of the empanadas with the egg wash.
• Bake the empanadas for approximately 25-35 minutes, until they’re a nice golden color.