Veg*n Cooking and Other Random Musings: Whole Wheat Black Bean, Mushroom and Olive Empanadas

Monday, April 28, 2008

Whole Wheat Black Bean, Mushroom and Olive Empanadas

These were really good, but they do take a fair amount of time. I spaced it all throughout the day, so it didn't seem like much, but the meal does take a couple hours in total. The time is well worth it.

The dough is a work in progress, but it was very tasty for my first attempt.















These are the basic ingredients in Empanada Sauce.















A picture of the New Mexican chilies toasted.















Empanada Sauce simmering.















The finished product. This sauce is really good.

Empanada Sauce
Makes about 1 1/2 cup.

Note: This is not a spicy sauce. It would also go well with tacos, tostadas and taco salads.

4 dried red New Mexican chilies
5 dried Chiles Japones
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
6 tomatillos, husks removed and quartered
1/4 red onion, minced
1 cup water
juice of half a lime
cumin
salt

Heat a griddle on medium heat for about 2 minutes.

Place chilies and unpeeled garlic on the griddle and toast until slightly black on each side, about 3 minutes on each side. Let the garlic cool just a bit and peel, remove stems from chilies and halve.

Simmer all the ingredients in a sauce pan until tomatillos are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Remove the chilies from the sauce.

Transfer the rest of the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until very smooth.

If the sauce needs to be spicier, add bits of the chile at a time. (I left one of the chiles in.)

This sauce lasts about a week in the fridge and freezes well.















Black bean, mushroom, olive and veggie filling.















Empanada ready to be folded up.















Baked and ready to eat.




























Mini empanadas.

Whole Wheat Black Bean, Mushroom and Olive Empanadas

I made two large empanadas for our dinner and then used a cookie cutter to make mini empanadas for snacks as there wasn't really enough worth freezing.

Dough:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp Earth Balance (I use the non-hydrogenated organic kind)
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 cup warm water
cumin
chipotle chili powder
cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and spices.

Using a knife, cut the Earth Balance into the flour.

Using a fork to combine ingredients, start adding the vinegar and water in batches. The mixture should be just combined and still lumpy.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead a time or two.

Put back into bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in circles, the size is dependent on how large you want the empanadas.

Filling:
1 cup black beans, cooked
1/2 cup sweet corn, cooked
4 serrano peppers, seeded and minced
1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and minced
1/4 red onion, minced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small can chopped black olives, drained
1/2 cup long grain brown rice, cooked

1 cup white mushrooms, finely minced
chipotle chili powder
cumin
1 tbsp dried cilantro
salt

Heat a few tablespoons of water in a small skillet. Add the peppers and onion and cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain any excess water.

Combine cooked veggies with beans and corn.

In the same skillet, heat a few more tablespoons of water. Add the mushrooms, season and cook until soft about 10 minutes.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Putting it all together:
Layer filling in empanada dough circle. Crimp edges with a fork to close. Mositen edges with a bit of water while crimping.

Bake for 15-20 (for large ones, about 10 for mini empanadas) minutes or until golden brown.

Serve with empanada sauce. Yum!

'Til next time.

14 comments:

jessy said...

oh my goodness! i must make these! they just look so freak'n yummy!

Alicia said...

They look so professional! And something I think you're going to like... small empanadas are empanadillas! sweet, isn't it?

Unknown said...

Another Mexican feast. I had some good news today. My Mexican friend comes to Amsterdam on Wednesday so I'll be getting lots of Mexican food tips soon. Those toasted chilis sound very nice.

ChickPea said...

Would you believe that I have never had an empanada? I know, I know. I am missing out big time apparently. I'll have to give your recipe a try once I get home in a few days:)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Wow, your empanadas look FANTASTIC!! I would never be able to get mine to form so perfectly, haha.

Vegan_Noodle said...

Very impressive, can you make me some?

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I am 100% serious when I say that you truly need to consider writing a Mexican vegan cookbook!!

Lindsay (Happy Herbivore) said...

your empanada insides look awesome and your empanadas came out far better than my baked ones did so many moons ago! you ARE mexican!

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

yummmm! empanada dough is tough to master but fun to mess around with.

Monika K said...

I totally made empanadas this weekend and just need to upload the pictures! You know what they say - great minds think alike!

J said...

Jessy - Thanks so much! I hope you like them and improve on the dough. I thought the texture was great, but it needed more flavor, perhaps a bit more salt and spices.

Alice - Thanks! I just used the bottom of my food processor to cut out nice sized circles of dough. Empanadillas? Awesome!

Cookiemouse - These empanadas were HUGE and so filling. Awesome, if you learn any good tips, please pass them on.

I was a bit nervous toasting the dried chilies, but it gave the sauce such a nice smoky flavor. I'll definitely use that method again!

Chickpea - You should try one! They are so good, it's like the Mexican equivalent to a calzone.

Veggie Gril - Thanks so much. I cheated a bit I suppose, like I said to Alice, I used my food processor to get the dough shape.

Vegan_Noodle - Hehehe! Thanks! If you're ever in MO or I visit Texas again, you might get lucky.

Chocolate Covered Vegan - I am 100% serious when I say you are TOO kind. I may at some point do that though. :-)

Happy Herbivore - Thanks! They were tasty. I can't believe people fry these things when they bake up so nicely. I went and checked our your empanada, it doesn't look bad at all.

Hahahah! I think you might be right.

Pleasantly - It's a lot of fun to mess with doigh.

Monika - Hahahaha! That's too funny, I can't wait to see what kind you came up with.

Anonymous said...

Awwe look at those cute little empanadas! I want some! It looks so hearty and easy to eat. Perfect when you want something on the go. Well, if it's made in advance, of course.

Although the dough looks great as well, what type of problems did you have with it?

Haha I keep looking back at it. Reading the ingredients. 5 cloves of garlic! I love garlic!

I definitely agree with CCV, you should write a vegan Mexican cookbook. I'll even help you advertise it. :-)

J said...

Leng - I bet these would be good, pre-made, and frozen. Then you'd just have to pop 'em in the oven or microwave.

My issues with the dough: First, it simply needed more salt. I also think I overcooked it a bit, as it wasn't as chewy as I wanted it to be. I think next time, I'll try using corn masa (flour) instead of corn meal. Perhaps some other really fine flour.

You know what's odd, I've found the spicier a meal is, the more garlic it needs, don't ask why. I haven't gotten any complaints that my food is too garlickly though. But we also really like garlic.

:-) You guys are too sweet! I hope my food really IS that good.

Anonymous said...

dammit! blogger erased my comment! I wrote a really long one too. ay ya ya!

okay well, here I go again....

I feel the same way about garlic and spice in meals. they go hand in hand, eh?

Adding the flour instead of cornmeal sounds like it would make the dough chewier...well, I don't know much about savory baking, but I know you'll figure it out...You're a professional! And don't say you're not 'cause there's proof on your blog! :-D

Have a great Wednesday Jennifer! (and Brett, and cute plants that are growing!)