Directions

To start

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Filling

1. Finely dice the peppers and shallots and add them to a large pan with the olive oil. Fry over a medium heat for a couple of minutes to soften them.

2. Add the beef mince, chillies & spices to the pan. We want this filling to be quite dry. Cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat, whilst you make the pastry.

Pastry

1. Either use a small food processor to add the fat in small chunks to the Panda Flour® and blitz for a few seconds to create breadcrumbs. Or, rub small chunks of fat between fingertips to combine with the Panda Flour® in a mixing bowl.

2. Once you have created a breadcrumb texture, add the cold water and hand-knead. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes - this will make the pastry more stable.

3. Take around 60g of the pastry dough and roll the pastry between two sheets of siliconized baking paper (i.e. the box needs to say "baking paper" on it, not just greaseproof). Once rolling, if the pastry starts to break, add another 5-10ml water and knead again before rolling again.

4. Use either a small pasty press or press these by hand. Spoon some filling into the centre of the pastry circle and fold the pastry over, pinching it together at the edges.

5. Place the empanadas on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 10-15 minutes, turning them over half way through. The pastry should now be sealed and slightly golden.

6. Heat a small pan with the the oil of choice. Use tongs to lower the empanadas into the oil. They should sizzle as they fry. After around 30 seconds on each side, they’ll be nicely golden with a crispier texture.

7. Place the empanadas on some kitchen towel to absorb any leftover oil, then serve!