Mushroom Blend Empanadas

Ingredients

For the filling

• 300g closed-cup mushrooms
• 300g lean beef mince
• 1 brown onion, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 2 hard boiled eggs, halved
• 4 black olives
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp tomato puree

For the empanadas

• 1.2kg ready-made shortcrust pastry, cut into 4 circles approx. 17cm in diameter
• 1 egg, beaten

To salsa

• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• ½ red onion, finely sliced
• 1 red chili, finely sliced
• Splash of olive oil
• Slash of red wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c.
2. Pulse the mushrooms in food processor until finely chopped. If you do not have a food processor, you can finely dice them by hand. Mix with the beef mince and season well.
3. In a pan, heat olive oil. Add the onion, garlic and carrot until soft. Add the beef and mushroom mince and cook until liquid has evaporated. Mix in the cumin and tomato puree, cooking for one more minute before removing from the heat.
4. Lay out the pre-cut pastry circles on a baking tray, on top of a baking sheet. Add two tablespoons of the meat and mushroom mix to the pastry in a semi-circle. Lay the egg and olive on top of the meat.
5. Brush around the edge of the pastry with the beaten egg and fold in a semi-circle shape. Crimp and pinch the pastry edge to seal then brush with egg and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
6. To create the salsa, simply mix all the Ingredients together and season to taste. Serve with empanadas.