Chilean Empanadas de Pino Recipe, Spotlight on Grinding Your Own Beef, How to Manage Stress and a Link Between Exercise and Brain Health

I love empanadas (if I’m being honest, I love all kinds of meat pies!), but they can seem daunting to make at home. This week’s recipe breaks it down for you. One step that makes every ground meat dish better is grinding the meat yourself, and it’s a snap with a countertop appliance you might already have…as long as you follow one simple step. I’m also sharing two important health discoveries—a creative way to manage stress and a newfound benefit of exercise that’s the latest example of the mind-body link. 

CHILEAN EMPANADAS DE PINO

• Chilean Empanadas De Pino

  Stuffed meat pies are part of nearly every culture. This very popular Chilean version builds on the pino—sauteed and beautifully seasoned ground beef—by adding a bounty of other flavors to the filling. 

  Ingredients

  For the dough:

  • 3-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and kept chilled
  • 1-1/4 cups ice water 

  For the filling:

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 3/4 pound of ground beef, preferably chuck 
  • 1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano 
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

  For the assembly:

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  • 3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered lengthwise 
  • 12 brined large green or black olives, pitted 
  • 3/4 cup golden or sultana raisins
  • 1 egg 
  • 1 tablespoon of water

  Directions

  Step 1

  Make the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and salt just until combined. Add the chilled butter and pulse again until the butter bits are about the size of peas—be careful not to overprocess. 

  Step 2

  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl, then add the water, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring and pressing it into the flour mixture with a spatula until you get a cohesive dough (you may not need all the water). 

  Step 3

  Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface and divide into 12 portions. Form each portion into a ball, place the balls on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for an hour for easier rolling. 

  Step 4

  Prepare the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add the garlic, beef, and onion and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the spices, hot sauce, and salt and pepper and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes until the meat is cooked through. Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

  Step 5

  Assemble the empanadas: Set out two large baking sheets. Working on a well-floured surface with a well-floured rolling pin, roll one of the dough balls into a 6- or 7-inch circle about 1/8-inch thick. 

  Step 6

  Place 2 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture in the lower half of the round and arrange an olive, an egg quarter, and a tablespoon of raisins on top of the meat. Fold the upper half of the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape. To seal it, fold up the edge along the half-moon by about 3/4 inch and crimp all along the way with the tines of a fork for a braided look. Use a large spatula to transfer the empanada to one of the baking sheets. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls. 

  Step 7

  Bake the empanadas: Preheat your oven to 425°F. Make an egg wash by breaking the egg into a small bowl and whisk it thoroughly with the tablespoon of water. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the tops of the empanadas with the egg wash. Bake on two racks in the oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes, rotating the pans at the halfway mark for even browning. 

  Makes 12 — Recipe courtesy of the Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil Club

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Grinding Your Own Beef

There’s no better way to elevate ground meat than to grind your own, and it’s not complicated. If you’ve got a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, invest in the grinder attachment (the kit also includes stuffer tubes for making your own sausages!). If you’ve got a food processor, you can simply use the steel blade—it will have a denser texture because it’s mincing rather than grinding.

For the best grind, everything needs to be icy-cold. Prep your meat by cutting it into 1-inch cubes, spreading them out on a baking sheet, covering with wrap, and popping in the freezer for 15 minutes along with your grinder or processor blade. For the grinder attachment, follow manufacturer instructions. For the processor, use the pulse button for the best control, so you don’t end up with a mash instead of a mince.

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Choosing and Using a Pastry Brush

Pastry brushes might seem like a luxury, but a simple natural boar-bristle brush from a company like Ateco is only a few dollars, and the golden finish from painting an egg wash on pastry before baking is more than worth it. Silicone brushes are easier to clean (they can go right in the dishwasher), but a thin egg wash doesn’t coat their bristles well—save silicone for a thicker application, like brushing BBQ sauce on ribs. To clean a natural bristle brush, rinse it under warm water, rub a small amount of dish detergent into the bristles, and rinse again. Blot the bristles with paper towels and let the brush air dry, flat, on a clean dish towel. When the bristles start falling out or if the brush develops any odors, it’s time to replace it. 

For Your Best Health

Making Stress Work for You

For years, Jeremy Jamieson, PhD, associate professor of psychology and the principal investigator at the University of Rochester’s Social Stress Lab, has been developing ways to rethink how people can deal with stress. Because stress is a normal part of life, it’s better to change how you think about it than to ignore it. For his latest study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, college students were taught to see stress as a positive—a tool rather than an obstacle. As a result, they lowered their anxiety levels, scored higher on tests, and responded to academic challenges in a healthier way. 

“We use a type of ‘saying is believing’ approach to learn about the adaptive benefits of stress,” said Dr. Jamieson. For instance, tell yourself that your sweaty palms and racing heart are responses that can energize you to perform well. “Stress reappraisal is not aimed at eliminating or dampening stress,” he explained. “It does not encourage relaxation, but instead focuses on changing the type of stress response: If we believe we have sufficient resources to address the demands we’re presented with—it doesn’t matter if the demands are high—if we think we can handle them, our body is going to respond with the challenge response, which means stress is seen as a challenge, rather than a threat.” Try it and see for yourself!

Fitness Flash

A Link Between Exercise and Brain Health

A group of scientists led by Bruce M. Spiegelman, PhD, the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Professor of Cell Biology and Medicine at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, has just released its latest research on irisin, a hormone produced by muscles during exercise and discovered by Dr. Spiegelman in 2012. After research on human brains found that irisin, named for the Greek messenger goddess Iris, was absent in people who had died of Alzheimer’s disease but was present in others, the team wanted to explore how the hormone might be involved in brain health. 

The most recent study, published in Nature Metabolism, used a variety of lab experiments involving mice to show that irisin can cross the blood-brain barrier and improve cognition—thinking and memory—in both healthy animals and those with a rodent version of Alzheimer’s. These findings suggest that the simple act of exercising could change the course of brain function as we age and lower dementia risk. While it will take research involving humans to learn what types and frequency of exercise are best, these results already suggest that exercise can be as good for your brain as we know it to be for your heart, which should motivate all of us to get moving.

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Tuna and White Bean Salad Recipe, The Benefits of Olive Oil for Brain Health and The Compound that Makes Extra Virgin Olive Oil Brain-Friendly

As a reader of The Olive Oil Hunter Newsletter, you know that I’m laser-focused on bringing you the most delicious recipes featuring extra virgin olive oil and other healthy ingredients, like this week’s tuna and white bean salad. I’m also always excited to share insights into the health benefits of olive oil, and every year we learn more about why it belongs in our diet.

In this issue, the health benefit of olive oil I’m highlighting is brain health, with research showing that extra virgin olive oil as part of the Mediterranean diet may help stave off cognitive decline—when you don’t feel as sharp as you once did and have trouble with memory and thinking—as well as forms of dementia.

TUNA AND WHITE BEAN SALAD

• Calabrian Pumpkin Soup

  Simple but sublime is the pumpkin soup my Merry Band of Tasters and I were served when visiting the Librandi family, one of Calabria’s outstanding olive oil producers. “Mama” Librandi shared the recipe with me.

  Ingredients

  • 1 3-pound pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, with seeds and membranes removed 
  • 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
  • 2 tablespoons water 
  • Sea salt
  • Croutons for garnish (see the “Healthy Ingredient Spotlight” below) 

  Directions

  Step 1

  Using a sturdy knife, cut the pumpkin or butternut squash into roughly 1.5” cubes. Do the same with the potatoes.

  Step 2

  In a medium saucepan, combine the pumpkin, potatoes, the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and the water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender—50 to 60 minutes.

  Step 3

  Transfer to a blender jar and purée until smooth (don’t fill the blender more than half full—work in batches if necessary). Salt to taste.

  Step 4

  Divide the soup between warmed soup bowls. Drizzle generously with additional olive oil, and garnish with croutons. 

  Yields 6 appetizer or 4 main course servings

The Benefits of Olive Oil for Brain Health

How it works within the Mediterranean diet

The research: “The Effect of Mediterranean Diet on Cognitive Functions in the Elderly Population” Nutrients, June 2021.

Scientists looked at a group of studies on the Mediterranean diet (“MedDiet”) spanning the previous five years in order to analyze its effects on people age 55 and up with or without cognitive impairments. They wrote: “The results show that the higher adherence to MedDiet proves to have a better effect on global cognitive performance of older people…Overall, the strength of the findings…is that the adherence to MedDiet improves memory of both cognitively unimpaired and impaired older people.” 

What’s more, the authors pointed out that the “enrichment of MedDiet with a higher dosage of some food…such as extra-virgin olive oil, might have a more significant impact on the improvement of cognitive performance among seniors than just MedDiet alone.” 

They highlight the flavonoids found in extra virgin olive oil and point out that one in particular, secoiridoid oleuropein, might be the reason that olive oil seems to protect the brain.

Now That’s a Mouthful!!

The compound that makes extra virgin olive oil brain-friendly

Research: “Effect of an Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Intake on the Delay of Cognitive Decline: Role of Secoiridoid Oleuropein?” Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 2019.

This is one of the studies that the researchers above looked at. Secoiridoid oleuropein might be nearly impossible to pronounce, but it’s one of its most powerful and abundant phenolic compounds in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). A specific type called oleuropein-aglycone occurs during the production of EVOO, but not with just any production. According to this study, “EVOO is the best quality oil produced by mechanical pressing of ripe olives. Through this process, it is possible to retain most of the components with strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Any industrial processing of olive oil (extraction and refining) makes it a lower quality oil. Comparing EVOO with refined olive oil, the refined form is less protective of oxidative lipid damage, free radical formation, and inflammatory activity. Oleuropein-aglycone…is the chief phenolic substance of extra virgin olive oil, and the neuroprotective effect is thought to be associated with it.” 

The study authors pointed out that while most research on the brain benefits of extra virgin olive oil has been done in the lab, two randomized controlled trials—the gold standard for research—involved people. For a yearlong Italian study of 110 healthy elderly subjects, everyone followed the Mediterranean diet, but half the participants included additional EVOO, and they were the ones who had higher short-term improvement of cognitive function scores.

In a Spanish study that lasted for 6.5 years, those who followed an EVOO-rich Mediterranean diet had better cognitive function and less MCI or mild cognitive impairment (early signs of cognitive decline) than those who didn’t. As the researchers wrote, “Thus, the neuroprotective effect against cognitive decline was confirmed.”

What I found really interesting is their citing advice to start reaping extra virgin olive oil’s benefits early in life: “As general recommendations state, the protective effect of virgin olive oil can be most important in the first decades of life, which suggests that the health benefit of virgin olive oil intake should start before puberty and [be] maintained through life.” 

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