Argentine Meat Empanadas

½ cup shortening
2 onions, chopped
2 tsp sweet paprika
¾ tsp hot paprika
Salt to taste
½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
500 g lean ground beef
1 tbsp baby Surprise peas
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp SIDS RASPBERRY VINEGAR
¼ cup raisins
½ cup pitted green olives, chopped
2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
500 g frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
2 tbsp SIDS HOT WORCESTER SAUCE

In a sauté pan, melt the shortening and add the chopped onions. Cook the onions until just before they begin to turn golden. Remove from the heat and stir in the sweet paprika, hot paprika, crushed red pepper flakes and salt to taste.
Spread the meat on a sieve and pour boiling water on it for partial cooking. Allow meat to cool. Place meat in a dish add salt to taste, cumin and SIDS RASPBERRY VINEGAR. Mix and add the meat to the onion mixture. Mix well and place on a flat to dish to cool and harden.
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Cut puff pastry dough into 10 round shells. Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on each round then add some of the raisins, olives and hard boiled egg. Avoid reaching the edges of the pastry with the filling because its oiliness will prevent good sealing. Slightly wet the edge of the pastry, fold in two and stick edges together. The shape should resemble that of a half-moon. You should have a 10 mm flat edge of pastry to work with. Seal by twisting edge, step by step, between thumb and index finger, making sure to add pressure before releasing the pinch and moving on to the next curl. Other sealing procedures like pinching without curling or using a fork to seal will not prevent juice leaks during baking as empanadas must be juicy.
Place empanadas on a baking paper lined baking tray. Be sure to prick each empanada with a fork near the curl to allow steam to escape during baking. Glaze with egg for shine and bake until golden, about 20-30 minutes.
Serve with SIDS HOT WORCESTER SAUCE for dipping.
History: Empanadas first appeared in Portugal around the time of the establishment of trade routes to India and the establishment of a Portuguese Colony at Goa and believed to have been derived or influenced by the Indian Samosa, known in Lisbon as the Chamuça da Goa. They first appeared in medieval Iberia during the time of the Moorish invasions. A cookbook published in Catalan in 1520, 'Libre del Coch' by Ruperto de Nola, mentions empanadas filled with seafood in the recipes for Catalan, Italian, French and Arabian food. In turn, empanadas and the similar calzones are both believed to be derived from the Indian meat-filled pies, samosas. All these pastries have common origins: India and the Middle East. Empanada was introduced to Brazil and Indonesia by the Portuguese colonizers and it still remains as a popular dish. It has also been introduced to Hispanic America and the Philippines by the Spanish colonizers. Empanadas in Latin America, the Philippines and Indonesia have various fillings.