Empanadas
(meat-filled pastries)

Pastry:
2 cups plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1 egg yolk, beaten
¼ cup melted butter or margarine
1 egg white, lightly beaten
lard or oil for deep frying

Filling:
3 rashers bacon
1 tablespoon lard or oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
8 ounces pork and veal mince, or Spanish sausage, finely chopped
4 ounces finely chopped raw chicken
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped pickled gherkins

Pastry: Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Mix together water, sugar and egg yolk. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in the mixture, then blend and knead until smooth. Leave to rest for 15 minutes. Roll out half the pastry thinly on a lightly floured board and brush with half the melted butter. Roll up pastry to a long, thin roll, making sure it is rolled tightly and firmly. Cut into slices about 1 inch thick and roll each slice out again to a circle about the size of a small saucer.

Put a spoonful of filling on each, brush edges of pastry with lightly beaten egg white, fold to a half circle shape and press edges firmly together to seal. Decorate with tines of a fork. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling.

Heat lard or oil in a deep frying pan and when moderately hot fry the empanadas, a few at a time, until golden brown. Drain well on absorbent paper and serve warm.

Filling: Remove rind, chop bacon into small pieces and fry until fat runs. Remove bacon from pan, add lard or oil and fry garlic and onion over low heat until soft and golden. Increase heat, add meats and fry, stirring, until they change color. Add salt, pepper and tomato sauce, stir well. Lower heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in hard-boiled eggs and pickled gherkin and allow to cool before filling pastry. Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary.