Name: Argentinian cheese and onion empanadas
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Makes 12
Cuisine: Argentinian
Ingredients: 50g unsalted butter; 2 onions, thinly sliced; ground to make ½ tsp whole black peppercorns; a pinch dried chilli flakes; 100g mature cheddar, grated; 100g provolone, grated; 500g block shortcrust pastry; plain flour, for dusting; 1 egg, beaten

A white plate topped with two empanadas with crimped pastry

50g unsalted butter
2 onions
thinly sliced
ground to make ½ tsp whole black peppercorns
a pinch dried chilli flakes
100g mature cheddar
grated
100g provolone
grated
500g block shortcrust pastry
plain flour
for dusting
1 egg
beaten

Method

step 1
Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the onions with the black pepper, chilli flakes and a big pinch of salt for 40 minutes until the onions turn light brown. Remove from the heat, cool completely and mix in both cheeses.
step 2
Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured worksurface to a ½mm thickness. Stamp out 12 x 10cm circles using a biscuit cutter or glass. Spoon 1 tbsp of the filling into the middle of each circle, then brush the exposed pastry edges with beaten egg and fold over to create semi-circles. Use a fork to seal the pastry. Transfer the empanadas to baking trays lined with baking paper and brush with more beaten egg, then bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly, then serve warm or cold.