I love Latin American food. Funnily enough, the title of this post translates from Spanish back into English as "Master the Latin American food!", which is pretty much what I would like to do. About two weeks ago I discovered some bite-sized vegan empanadas at a local health food store that started my minor obsession not only with empanadas but Latin American food in general. A fruitless search for a vegan empanada recipe I liked led me to create my own recipes, which I think are better than anything I could have hoped for. Give 'em a try and see for yourself:
Empanada Dough
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. Earth Balance margarine, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 tsp. egg replacer powder + 2 tbsp. water
1/3 cup cold water
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Directions
In a large bowl combine the salt and flour. Add the margarine and mix into flour mixture with your fingers or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse pea-sized lumps. Set bowl aside. In a small bowl, combine the 1 1/2 tsp. egg replacer and 2 tbsp. water and mix until well-combined. Add vinegar and the remainder of the water. Add to the wet mixture to the flour mixture, stirring with a spoon until barely combined. Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured counter top or pastry board and bring together with your hands, kneading gently once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Take note that it is very important that you do not knead it more than this or else the dough will become too hard to work with when rolling it out. Form dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic or parchment paper and chill in the refrigerator for about one hour.
Smoky Cheese and Spinach Empanada Filling
5 c. fresh spinach, washed and coarsely torn into large pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
1 c. vegan Monterey Jack "cheese" (Follow Your Heat/Earth Island brand melts the best), cut into small 1/3" cubes
2 c. baby portobello mushrooms, stemmed and sliced into thin slices
225 g. smoked tofu, processed into smaller than pea-sized bits
freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
In a pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat then add the garlic, sauteeing for 1 minute. Add the spinach and sautee another 3-4 minutes, or until the spinach is completely wilted. Remove the mixture from the pan and place in a medium bowl with the smoked tofu and cheese. In the pan sautee the mushrooms until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the bowl and season the mixture with freshly ground black pepper. Mix until well combined.
Making the empanadas
Heat oven to 350 F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a floured counter or pastry board roll out into a large disc, about 1/4"-1/5" thick. To make small empanadas, use a large-mouthed glass, such as a wine glass, to cut out rounds of dough. To make large empanadas, use a larger circular item, such as a teacup plate or plastic lid (you'll need to cut around them with a knife). On one side of the dough, place 1 tbsp. filling (for small empanadas) or 1/3 c. filling (for large empanadas). Keep in mind that too much filling will stretch the dough and cause holes or misshaped pastries due to stretching. If the dough is slightly sticky, simply seal the edges of the empanada with a fork, pressing down to seal the two halves of the pastry. If the dough is a little on the drier side, dab a tiny bit of water around one half of the dough circle and close the two halves, sealing with a fork. With a spatula, lift the empanada onto a floured baking sheet. To prevent the filling from seeping out the sides of the empanada, with a sharp knife gently cut two small "v"s into the top of the pastry - this will let any steam inside escape from these cuts. After all the empanadas have been assembled, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden on their bottoms.
Makes 4 large or 8-10 small empanadas (depending on the size circles you make of the dough).
Black Bean and Chilpotle Chile Empanadas
For dough, see empanada dough recipe above.
Black Bean and Chilpotle Chile Filling
1-7.5 oz. can chilpotle peppers in adobo sauce (2-4 chopped chilpotle peppers + 4 tbsp. adobo sauce)
1 14 oz. can black refried beans
1 cup minced yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
Directions
In a pan, sautee onion in the olive oil over medium heat, until translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sautee another minute. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the sauteed onions and garlic with the refried beans, chopped chilpotle peppers and 4 tbsp. of adobo sauce. Mix ingredients until well combined.
Making the empanadas
Heat oven to 350 F. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and on a floured counter or pastry board roll out into a large disc, about 1/4"-1/5" thick. To make small empanadas, use a large-mouthed glass, such as a wine glass, to cut out rounds of dough. To make large empanadas, use a larger circular item, such as a teacup plate or plastic lid (you'll need to cut around them with a knife). On one side of the dough, place 1 tbsp. filling (for small empanadas) or 1/3 c. filling (for large empanadas). Keep in mind that too much filling will stretch the dough and cause holes or misshaped pastries due to stretching. If the dough is slightly sticky, simply seal the edges of the empanada with a fork, pressing down to seal the two halves of the pastry. If the dough is a little on the drier side, dab a tiny bit of water around one half of the dough circle and close the two halves, sealing with a fork. With a spatula, lift the empanada onto a floured baking sheet. To prevent the filling from seeping out the sides of the empanada, with a sharp knife gently cut two small "v"s into the top of the pastry - this will let any steam inside escape from these cuts. After all the empanadas have been assembled, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the pastries for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden on their bottoms.
Makes 4 large or 8-10 small empanadas (depending on the size circles you make of the dough).
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