Brunch Favourites

Before everyone gets all crazy about the name, let me start by saying that I’m not claiming that these little parcels of deliciousness are empanadas, but that they ARE inspired by them. Sure I could just call them ‘savoury meat parcels’ but where’s the fun in that?

Ingredients

• 500gm beef mince (Don’t like beef? You can use chicken, lamb, pork … it’s up to you)*
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• Whole garlic cloves – as much as you like. I use about 3-4 cloves, but I really like garlic
• Tomato paste – use the best you can get. How much you use will depend on how good it is.
• 1/2 cup stuffed green olives, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Puff pastry – if you’re really keen you can make your own, but honestly, the shop bought stuff is just fine
• Egg wash or milk
• The secret ingredient : pomegranate molasses

* Vegetarian? You can substitute TVP mince in this recipe – you just need to cook the mix down a bit longer for the flavours to absorb better.

Method

Saute the onions in a little oil or butter over a medium heat. Don’t let them get too browned – you want them more soft and golden. After about 5 minutes toss the whole garlic cloves in there with them. Keep stirring, it’s important they don’t stick. After the onions are done to your liking, add the mince to the pot in small batches to brown it nicely. Once browned, add the tomato paste. Again, how much you use will depend on how good it is – the stuff we have is insanely good. It’s so thick and rich that you only need a little bit, but if you’re buying supermarket brands you’re probably going to need a good couple of tablespoons.

Once that’s mixed in nicely, throw in those chopped olives, the frozen peas and add a little water (or red wine) if the mix is a little dry – just a tablespoon or so though, you don’t want it getting too runny or your pastry will be soggy. Lower the heat and let the whole thing stew along nicely for about 15 minutes, stirring it every now and then so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Remember, if you’re using TVP mince, you’ll probably want to let it cook a little longer so the flavours really absorb. Just keep the heat nice and low.

Next, fish out those garlic cloves – they should be nice and squishy by now. Transfer them to a chopping board and crush them with the side of a knife to make a paste. Add that back to the mix and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Now it’s time to add the secret weapon: pomegranate molasses. If you’ve never had it before, it is amazing. It really is a total explosion of flavour and it adds SO much depth to a savoury dish like this (I’ve used it in bolognese sauce as well and it’s a real game changer). Add about 1 tsp of pomegranate molasses to the mixture and give it all a good stir to distribute the flavours.

Turn off the heat and set aside to cool. If the mix is too hot, the pastry will get all melty, so make sure it’s good and cool.

Grab your pastry – if you’re using shop-bought sheets, peel one off at a time and leave the others under a damp cloth so they don’t dry out. Cut the sheet into 4 squares, and have a small bowl of cold water close by. Add a dollop of the cooled mixture to the centre of one of the squares and dip your finger in the bowl of water and run it around the edges of the square. Next pull two opposite corners of the pastry up to meet in the middle and squeeze them together gently. Hold that point with one hand and bring up the third corner to meet them, squeezing the ‘seam’ together as you go. Repeat with the final corner. Brush your parcel with egg wash or milk. And set aside while you repeat the process till you run out of pastry or mix or (hopefully) both.

Now you have all your little parcels made, it’s time to decide how you’re going to cook them.

Anyone who knows me will tell you how in love I am with my air fryer. And I confess, I may have gone through a phase of asking, ‘Can we air fry that?’ about practically everything. (Who am I kidding … I’m still doing that!) Well, if you love your air fryer as much as I love mine, you’re going to be thrilled at how well these turn out when they’re air fried.

Air fry them at about 180 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Obviously, some air fryers may be cook a little differently, so check your first batch partway through cooking to see how they’re progressing.

After about 10 minutes they should look something like this …

Just LOOK at that golden puffiness! >>>

Alternatively, if you don’t have an air fryer, you can pop them in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius (375 degrees Farenheit) for about 10-12 minutes. Again, every oven is different, so check partway through cooking to see how they’re going.

Let them cool slightly before you bite into them – they will be blisteringly hot inside. Trust me on this, you don’t need to learn it for yourself the hard way.