Torta Pascualina

I am convinced this pie, is the South American descendant of the Italian version with the same name. It is traditionally served during the Catholic week of Lent; hence the name. Torta Pascualina means Easter Cake (or Easter Tart) in Spanish (the Italian name is Torta Pasqualina). Obviously one is meant to eat this on Good Friday, but spoilt brats like myself don’t really care for religious observation. I eat what I want, when I want.
Originally, it was made with spinach. However proper, real spinach (not baby spinach) was not always available in Australia during past times, so silver beet was substituted. My mother tells me it can be very successfully made with frozen spinach- a convenient option, but I prefer to use fresh leaves.
I like a combination of fresh silverbeet and spinach, along with carrot, green peppers and peas for sweetness and texture.
Torta Pascualina is best eaten at room temperature. It is wonderful served at picnics and at family gatherings (religious or not).

Components
For the filling
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ green pepper, finely chopped
1 small carrot, finely chopped
Olive oil and butter (20ml of each, or so)
650g silverbeet and spinach leaves, finely chopped
(Combined weight, I include some of the silverbeet stalk)
100g peas (I use frozen)
1 tsp dried Greek oregano
1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
A pinch of chili powder
A pinch of sugar
Freshly grated nutmeg (I like plenty)
Sea salt
Black and white pepper, freshly ground
1 free-range egg
50g pecorino cheese, grated
2 tsp concentrated tomato puree

For the pastry
400g flour (Tipo 00)
1 free-range egg
20ml olive oil
Water
Sea salt

Process:
Preparing the filling
In a wide saucepan, soften the onion, garlic, carrot and green pepper in equal quantities of oil and butter. It will take about 20 minutes, done over a low heat-the aromatics should not brown. Add the silver beet, spinach, peas, herbs, spices and seasoning and continue cooking for another 20 minutes or so. The silver beet and spinach should cook right down, becoming dark green, smooth and sweet in flavour. Allow to cool. Check the seasoning- there should be plenty of nutmeg and pepper, with only a pinch of chili. Add the tomato paste, pecorino cheese and the egg. Set aside.

Preparing the pastry.
Mix all the ingredients together (add enough water to make a dough which is neither too soft, nor too hard). Knead for a few minutes until smooth. Wrap in cling film and allow to rest for a while. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll into rectangular pieces (15cm by 35cm). My grandmother almost always uses the pasta machine to roll out pastries (the machine gives a uniform, smooth result), and thus I do the same.

Construction and Baking.
Pre-heat the oven to 200c.
Place one sheet of the rolled pasrty onto a greased baking sheet. Spoon one half of the filling mixture onto the pastry.
Flatten the mixture so that it is evenly spread out over the pastry. Make sure you leave about 1cm around the edge of the pastry. Dampen the edge of the pastry with water.
Drape the next sheet over the top of the mixture and gently stretch the pastry so that the 2 edges meet.
Press firmly all around the edges to form a nice tight seal. Dampen the edges again with water then fold the edge over and press down with a fork to double seal the pastry edge.
Repeat the process to make a second pie.
Glaze the tops with beaten egg and pierce a few air holes in the top of the pie.
Bake until golden- about 15-20 minutes.
Allow the “torta” to cool and cut into slices.
You can also make smaller individual pies (perfect for work lunches), not traditional but charming nonetheless.

Grandma's Secret

My International Dictionary of Food and Cooking tells me that “Empanadas” are South American “pasties made from a yeast raised dough containing sweet or savory fillings, baked or shallow fried and eaten hot”. Well, I guess that is sort of right. My Argentine grandmother fills hers with beef and onion, and they are baked in a very hot oven. She does not use yeast in her dough, but instead, prepares a dripping (beef fat) enriched puff pastry. I do not remember fried empanadas or sweet empanadas, offered by any member of my family. Ever. The idea of the sweet variety sounds a bit tacky, actually.
The exception to the “meat” rule is at Easter time, when my grandmother prepares a softer, butter pastry to encase a filling of béchamel and tuna (you will have to wait for that recipe), in keeping with the catholic tradition of Argentina.
To this day, her dripping pastry, it is still the best puff pastry have tried. The dripping gives her pastry a wonderful crispiness. I cannot even handle the thought of leaving it out, or substituting with some “healthy” fat. For those who are health conscience, I would advise to just skip this recipe and move right along. But be warned, you will not know how good these are until you try one. And one is never enough. These are addictive and I can eat 10 or more. As can every other person in my family! For this reason I would not advise making these little pies in a small quantities. Turn the task it into a weekend event and make plenty. Share the duties of preparing the filling and pastry, assembling and baking. And then just gorge yourself on these pies. They go well with a glass of red wine, or make that a few bottles of red! Nothing fancy, a rough wine is perfect here. This is not “haute cuisine” but tasty and humble festive food, to be enjoyed with people you love.
This is my grandmothers recipe and I thank her with all my heart for passing on all the little “secrets”, as she put it. Her technique for making puff pastry is ingenious and I have never come across this method in any book. But then, I do not really read much about pastry, these days, so I may be wrong. Anyway, I'll share those secrets with you.

Empanadas

Ingredients

For the “picadillo”
600g quality minced beef
600g onion, peeled weight and chopped finely
30g dripping (rendered beef fat)
1 tsp dried grreek oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Spanish sweet paprika
Fresh black pepper
Sea salt
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
A handful of black olives, pitted and chopped (optional)

For the “masa”
600g plain flour
70g dripping (rendered beef fat)
2 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp sweet spanish paprika
500ml warm water.
100g unsalted butter, melted
Cornflour, for dusting
Egg wash, for glazing

Method.

For the picadillo:
Over a low heat and in a wide pan, melt the dripping.
Gently sauté the onion until it has cooked down and is just beginning to colour. It should not brown, though. You need patience here and it will take 30 minutes or more. The idea is to retain the sweetness of the onion, which is essential to the flavour.
Add a couple of spoonfuls of water if the onion appears to be drying out, as you cook. Add the beef and turn the heat up a bit. Cook this, stirring often, to break up the lumps. Do not brown the meat or it will be hard and dry. As you cook this gently for 15 minutes, add the oregano, spices and salt.
Finish with a couple of tablespoons of water, to keep the filling moist. Allow to cool.
This is were I break tradition.
Lightly mix through the chopped egg and olives, if using. The traditional way is to top the filling, with these last two ingredients, rather than mixing through. I do this purely because I have a crazy obsession with neatness…

For the masa
In a large bowl, place the flour, paprika and salt. Place the dripping on top. Using your fingers, blend in the dripping.
Once combined, add the water and mix through to form a dough.
Knead this for a few minutes to work the gluten, until it is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for a while. My grandmother would leave it until the next day, but one hour is enough.
When you are ready to continue, divide the dough in two. Cover the portion you are not using, immediately.
Roll out the dough thinly, about 1mm. Have the melted butter ready and using a pastry brush, paint lightly all over the surface of the dough. Fold the pastry and turn 90 degrees. Repeat the rolling, painting and folding 3 times (or more if you like)! Use cornflour on your work surface to prevent sticking.
Repeat this procedure with the other half of the dough. If you run out of butter, just use more and forget about your image issues. Life is too short to eat bland food.
Cover the dough to prevent it from drying too much.

To assemble the “empanadas”
Set the oven to 220c.
Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1mm.
Use a stencil to cut circles in the dough. My grandmother used an espresso saucer, as do I. The circles should be 12cm across in diameter.
In the center of each circle, place a tablespoon of the “picadillo”
Moisten the edges with water and fold the circle over to create a half moon shape.
Seal the edge well. Now carefully fold back the edge onto itself, to create a scalloped shape (like in the picture).


Continue with the rest.
Brush with egg wash and bake on oiled and lined trays.
They are ready when they are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Devour them warm or cold (I like them cold for breakfast). I lost count of how many empanadas this amount makes, but it was over 30...

Now I must give credit where it is due. I did not make the pastry for these. Instead I delegated this duty to my beloved partner. And what a marvelous job he did. Without any stress, fuss or drama he produced the most exquisite pastry. It tasted just like my grandmothers (well almost).

Variation- I have not tried this, but I have seen many recipes including raisins in the filling. Sounds nice enough, but I would swap green olives for the black, and leave out the hardboiled egg.