Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cook about 5 minutes until the onions are translucent, stirring frequently.

Add the garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.

Raise the heat to medium-high, add the ground beef, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano to the skillet. Stir to combine the ingredients well, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon or a spatula.

Arrange the ground beef in one layer and cook for 3 minutes undisturbed. Stir well, arrange in one layer again and cook 3 minutes or until browned. Stir and break up any remaining large pieces.

Add the wine to the skillet; cook about 1-2 minutes until most of the liquid evaporates, stir frequently.

Lower the heat to medium. Add the tomato sauce, beef broth and the olives, stir to combine.

Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and cook the picadillo for approximately 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid cooks away. Stir occasionally. Keep it at a simmer, if the sauce is boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a bit.

If the picadillo is still too saucy after the cooking time, then uncover the skillet and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Taste the picadillo and add salt, if needed. As a reference we added ¼ teaspoon to ours.

Take the skillet off the heat and allow it to cool. Then, transfer the meat to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled through.

Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment paper to place the empanadas.

Prepare a small bowl with the beaten egg.

Working with one empanada disk at a time, add 2 heaping tablespoons of the picadillo in the middle.

Moisten around the edges of the dough with the egg using a pastry brush.

Fold the round in half, press the edges together gently.

Use a fork to press the edges together and ensure the seal.

Set the empanada on the lined baking sheet and repeat with the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the oil over medium high heat. We need the oil at about 325°F to 350°F add 1-2 empanadas, depending on the size of the pan. Fry them for 1-2 minutes until golden.

Carefully flip and fry for another 1-2 minutes until golden on both sides.

Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon or spatula and set on a baking sheet lined with a cooling rack or on a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining empanadas.

It may be necessary to lower the heat a bit for the second, third (etc.) batch. If the oil is too hot the empanadas may brown too much and too quickly.