{"id":2796,"date":"2025-02-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/?p=2796"},"modified":"2025-06-04T16:13:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T16:13:48","slug":"zinfandel-paired-with-savory-beef-empanadas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/zinfandel-paired-with-savory-beef-empanadas\/","title":{"rendered":"Zinfandel Paired with Savory Beef Empanadas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Fire up the grill and bring bold flavors to your summer gatherings with these golden, flaky empanadas\u2014perfect for backyard BBQs and warm evening hosting. Filled with tender, spiced beef and baked to a satisfying crisp, they\u2019re a crowd-pleasing favorite that pairs perfectly with Frank Family\u2019s Chiles Valley Zinfandel. With its ripe blackberry notes, touch of spice, and smooth, smoky finish, this Zinfandel was made for summer nights and shared bites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients: Dough<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
4 1\/2 cups<\/td>Unbleached all-purpose flour<\/td><\/tr>
3 tsp<\/td>Salt<\/td><\/tr>
2 sticks (1 cup)<\/td>Unsalted butter<\/td><\/tr>
2<\/td>Large eggs<\/td><\/tr>
2\/3 cups<\/td>Ice water<\/td><\/tr>
2 tbsp<\/td>Distilled white vinegar<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients: Filling<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
1\/2 <\/td>Medium onion (finely chopped)<\/td><\/tr>
1 tbsp<\/td>Olive oil<\/td><\/tr>
1<\/td>Garlic clove (finely chopped)<\/td><\/tr>
1 tsp<\/td>Ground cumin<\/td><\/tr>
3\/4 tsp<\/td>Dried oregano<\/td><\/tr>
1\/2 tsp<\/td>Salt<\/td><\/tr>
1\/4 tsp<\/td>Pepper<\/td><\/tr>
2-3 <\/td>Currants (based on sweetness preference)<\/td><\/tr>
1 1\/2 tsp<\/td>Chopped pimento-stuffed olives<\/td><\/tr>
1 can (14 oz)<\/td>Crushed tomatoes<\/td><\/tr>
1 lb<\/td>Ground beef<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Instructions: Dough<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Then, use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal, with some pea-sized lumps of butter remaining.<\/li>
  2. Whisk together the egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl using a fork. Pour this mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently with the fork until everything is just combined.<\/li>
  3. Transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface and mix it together. Then, using the heel of your hand, knead it gently once or twice\u2014just enough to combine the dough smoothly.<\/li>
  4. Form dough into two flat rectangles and chill them, each wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for up to 6 hours in total. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Ingredients: Filling and Assembling<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    1. Preheat oven to 400\u00baF and put oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.<\/li>
    2. In a heavy medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and saut\u00e9 the onion, stirring often, until it becomes soft. Then, add the garlic, cumin, and oregano and continue to cook for another minute, stirring to combine the flavors.<\/li>
    3. Mix in the beef and cook it, breaking apart any lumps with a fork, until it turns brown and is no longer pink, which should take about 4 minutes.<\/li>
    4. Add currants, olives, \u00bd tsp salt, \u00bc tsp pepper, and tomatoes, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced but the mixture is still moist, about 5 minutes. <\/li>
    5. Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap on a dampened work surface (to help keep the plastic in place), then roll out an empanada disk on the plastic wrap to measure about 6 inches. Place 3 tbsp meat mixture on the disk. Moisten the edges of the disk with water and fold over to form a semicircle, then crimp with a fork. <\/li>
    6. Gently brush the empanadas with egg wash and place them in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. About halfway through baking, switch the positions of the baking sheets to ensure even cooking. Bake until they turn a golden brown, which should take around 25 minutes. Once done, transfer the empanadas to a wire rack and allow them to cool for at least 5 minutes.<\/li>
    7. Enjoy warm or at room temperature!<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Fire up the grill and bring bold flavors to your summer gatherings with these golden, flaky empanadas\u2014perfect for backyard BBQs and warm evening hosting. Filled with tender, spiced beef and baked to a satisfying crisp, they\u2019re a crowd-pleasing favorite that pairs perfectly with Frank Family\u2019s Chiles Valley Zinfandel. With its ripe blackberry notes, touch of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[313,464,218,121,92,466,233,465],"class_list":["post-2796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food","tag-comfort-food","tag-empanadas","tag-food-and-wine","tag-food-pairing","tag-frank-family-vineyards","tag-frank-family-zinfandel","tag-zinfandel","tag-zinfandel-pairing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Mailchimp-Header.png?fit=1500%2C1000&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/parYsd-J6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.frankfamilyvineyards.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}