Steak Empanada

Method

1. mix5 min
   flour + half the salt + cold butter rubbed only until pea-size pieces remain, then cold water added just until the dough holds
   Mix the flour with half the salt, cut in the cold butter until visible pieces remain, then add the cold water only until the dough comes together. Those intact fat pieces melt in the oven and create separation in the pastry; working the dough smooth now develops gluten and smears the fat, which makes a tougher, less flaky shell.
2. rest30 min
   dough wrapped and chilled while the filling is made
   Chill the dough before rolling. Rest relaxes the gluten tightened during mixing and firms the butter again, so the discs roll without springing back and hold their shape around a warm-spiced filling.
3. saute10 min
   onion + bell pepper in oil, medium heat, until soft and sweet but not browned hard
   Cook the onion and pepper with the remaining salt until soft and reduced. The unusually generous onion is structural: it supplies moisture and sweetness to a filling made from lean hand-cut steak, but it needs to lose its raw water first or that moisture later turns to steam inside the pastry.
4. saute5 min
   pan hot, hand-cut steak added in a single uncrowded layer with paprika + cumin + black pepper
   Raise the heat, add the diced steak with the paprika, cumin and black pepper, and cook only until the outside has browned and the pieces are just cooked through. Hand-cut meat is the point of this branch: keeping distinct pieces gives a steak texture that ground beef cannot. Crowding the pan boils those pieces in onion liquid instead of browning them.
5. rest20 min
   filling spread on a tray or wide plate, olives folded in, cooled completely before assembly
   Spread the filling out, fold in the olives (+ chopped hard-boiled egg if using), and let it cool completely. Hot filling melts fat out of the pastry before the oven and releases steam against the seam; cooling is therefore a structural step, not merely a convenience.
6. prep15 min
   dough rolled about 3 mm thick, cut into roughly 12 cm rounds, two tablespoons filling per round, edges dampened and sealed
   Roll and cut six rounds, place the cooled filling slightly off-center, fold into half-moons and press out trapped air before sealing. Crimp or fold the edge into a repulgue. A clean dry border and an air-free pocket matter more than decorative perfection: grease on the seam or trapped steam is what makes an empanada burst.
7. bake18 min
   220°C / 425°F oven, egg-washed, spaced on a hot sheet until deeply golden
   Brush the sealed empanadas with beaten egg and bake until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp. High oven heat sets the seam and browns the exterior before the already-cooked filling has time to dry out; a low oven warms the filling while leaving the pastry pale and greasy. Let them stand a few minutes before eating so the hot filling stops steaming against the crust.