Black Bean and Sweet Potato Empanadas
| October 3, 2012 | Posted by Koalaborg under Food, recipes, Vegan, Vegan Mofo 2012 |
I usually cook two pounds of black beans in the crockpot each week, and try to have two or more meals planned on the menu using the beans. I prepared a large batch of black bean and sweet potato empanadas for dinner and to freeze for later lunches. These were a hit with the husband, so we will see how long the freezer stash actually lasts.
My go-to crust for all pies is listed under my Recipes tab here- I use this for sweet pies as well as Seitan vegetable pot pies and various mini pies. I prepared a double batch of pie crust to make the empanadas. This gave me enough for 18 but I made mine a little big – I was rolling out dough balls the size of golf balls. I still ended up with an extra cup of filling. Next time I’ll do a triple batch of pie crust and plan to make some apple empanadas with any extra crust. After I rolled out each ball of crust, I folded in half and spooned two (approximate) tablespoons of filling onto one side. I sealed the crust with a little water and crimped with a fork. I cooked 3o minutes at 375F (crusts should be lightly golden and firm).
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Empanada Filling
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp oil for sauteing
6 cups black beans, cooked and rinsed (I cook from dry, but I believe three cans should give you close to this amount)
1 1/2 Tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp coriander
salt and pepper, to taste
1 1/2 cups water
In a large cast iron skillet, saute sweet potatoes, onion and garlic until sweet potatoes are cooked through. Add black beans, spices and water and let cook until water is reduced. You want the mixture wet enough to easily spoon onto crust, but not runny.
Add to folded crust, run water along bottom crust edge and close top half of crust. Crimp with fork tines and place on baking sheet. Bake in preheated 375F oven for 30 minutes. Check for doneness – crusts should be lightly golden brown and firm to touch. Serve with salsa and guacamole, if you have some.
- Cook sweet potatoes for several minutes in skillet before adding onion and garlic.
- After adding onion and garlic, continue to cook, stirring to prevent burning, until sweet potatoes are cooked through.
- Add beans, spices and water and stir. Cook over medium heat until water is reduced. Mixture should be wet but not runny.
- Empanadas will be sealed with water and crimped with fork tines. Bake 30 minutes at 375F.
I served with salsa and guacamole – vegan sour cream would have been awesome. These are also very tasty plain as a handheld mini pie.
I made a slightly revised version of this (with a different dough that incorporated corn meal) and kept the filling the same – what a winner. Thanks for sharing this delightfully scrummy idea.
glad you liked it. would you mind sharing your dough recipe? I’d be interested in trying it.
Hi there, since I made a much smaller quantity of filling I chose this dough:
1 1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1 t sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t mustard powder (optional)
6 T margarine
1/2 c + 1 T almond milk
(from http://bitemevegan.blogspot.ca/)
awesome – thanks!