Savory Meat Filling (Printable)
A flavorful, versatile meat mix suited for pastries, empanadas, pies, or stuffed vegetables.
# What You Need:
→ Meats
01 - 1.1 lbs ground beef (or half beef, half pork for enhanced flavor)
→ Vegetables
02 - 1 medium onion, finely diced
03 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 small bell pepper, finely diced
05 - 1 medium carrot, grated
06 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
→ Spices & Seasonings
07 - 1 teaspoon ground cumin
08 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
09 - ½ teaspoon dried oregano
10 - ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
11 - 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
12 - Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
→ Additional
13 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
14 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
15 - 1 hard-boiled egg, chopped (optional)
16 - ⅓ cup sliced green olives (about 50 g, optional)
# How To Cook:
01 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook until softened, about 2–3 minutes.
02 - Incorporate minced garlic, diced bell pepper, and grated carrot. Continue cooking for 3–4 minutes until tender.
03 - Add ground beef (or beef and pork mix) to the skillet. Break it apart with a spoon and cook until browned and fully cooked through, approximately 6–8 minutes.
04 - Stir in tomato paste, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, black pepper, salt, and optional cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly and cook for 3 minutes to blend flavors.
05 - Remove from heat. Fold in chopped fresh parsley and, if desired, chopped hard-boiled egg and sliced green olives.
06 - Allow the filling to cool completely before incorporating into pastries, pies, or stuffed vegetables.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- It's endlessly adaptable, whether you're wrapping it in pastry, spooning it into peppers, or layering it in a pie, the filling works beautifully every single time.
- The combination of warm spices like cumin and smoked paprika creates a depth of flavor that tastes like you've been cooking all day, when really it's done in under an hour.
- Once you master this, you'll find yourself making it constantly because it's such a reliable base for so many dishes your family will start requesting it by name.
02 -
- The filling must cool completely before you use it, I learned this the hard way when I tried to fill warm empanadas and the pastry became soggy and fell apart during cooking.
- Don't skip browning the meat properly, those few minutes of higher heat create a depth that boiling it simply cannot achieve.
- Taste as you season, especially with salt, because every brand of ground meat has different salt content already built in.
03 -
- If your filling tastes a bit flat, don't add more salt, add a tiny splash of vinegar or lemon juice instead, it brightens everything immediately.
- For the most tender vegetables, make sure your dices are uniform in size so everything cooks evenly and nothing gets mushy while you're waiting for something else to cook.