Keto Beef Pocket Pastries (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Stuffing
01 -
2 tablespoons olive oil
02 -
½ pound ground beef (85/15 ratio)
03 -
1 small diced onion (4 ounces)
04 -
1 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic
05 -
½ teaspoon table salt
06 -
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
07 -
½ teaspoon cumin powder
08 -
½ teaspoon smoky paprika
→ Pastry
09 -
1 ½ cups grated part-skim mozzarella (6 ounces)
10 -
1 ounce diced cream cheese
11 -
¾ cup fine blanched almond flour (3 ounces)
12 -
1 large egg
# Instructions:
01 -
Get your oven hot at 350°F. Put parchment on a baking tray with edges.
02 -
Pour oil in a big pan on medium-high flame. Throw in beef and onion, breaking up meat while stirring until it's not pink anymore, about 4 minutes. Pour off extra fat.
03 -
Put drained meat mix back in pan. Mix in garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, and smoky paprika. Stir for another minute. Take off heat and put aside.
04 -
Put mozzarella in a bowl that's safe for microwave with cream cheese chunks on top. Zap for 30 seconds. Mix it up, then zap 30 more seconds. Stir again, then fold in almond flour as much as you can. Drop in the egg and stir with a rubber scraper, then use your hands to knead into a smooth, stretchy, slightly tacky ball.
05 -
Sandwich dough between two sheets of parchment and roll flat to ⅛-inch thick. Use a wine glass or 3.5-inch cutter to make circles. Roll leftover bits again to make around 12 circles total.
06 -
Lay circles on your lined tray. Spoon a big tablespoon of meat onto one side of each circle, staying ½ inch from the edge. Fold over to make half-moons and press edges to seal.
07 -
Cook pockets for 10 minutes. Flip them carefully and cook 8-10 minutes more until they're golden. Let them cool 10 minutes before you eat them.
# Notes:
01 -
Regular empanadas often have edges pressed with fork marks, but this low-carb dough might be too sticky for that.
02 -
You can swap in ground pork or dark chicken or turkey instead of beef. Don't use white meat chicken as it comes out too dry.
03 -
They taste best right after baking. Store any extras in a sealed container in the fridge up to 4 days. Warm them up slowly at half power in the microwave. You can freeze them up to 3 months.