Black bean empanadas
Black bean empanadas! Or are they pasties? Call ’em what you like, but tuck some beans ‘n’ veggies into these tasty treats and tantalize your tastebuds today!
Anyone who follows Planticize on Instagram knows that I’ve been going corn crazy this summer! Well, to be honest, it’s not just this summer, it’s every summer. So, while I’m calling these black bean empanadas, make no mistake about it, there’s fresh corn in there, too. I just love fresh corn on the cob – plain and simple. Except, in this case, I had to cut it off the cob. I mean, let’s face it, you can’t go throwing whole ears of corn into a puff pastry pocket now, can you? I’m crazy, but not THAT crazy.
The first time I had something similar to this was in England, where fabulous Cornish pasties reign supreme. I seem to remember that Heinz had cans of mixed beans in a Mexican type of sauce that I used to mix with cheese and spring onions. So if you see any of those, you could give them a try. But since I haven’t seen them for ages, I decided to make them myself, with the welcomed addition of fresh corn. I don’t know about you, but already from the outset the combo of black beans and corn has more of a TexMex feel than a Cornish feel, so I went with calling them empanadas.
Lucky for me, a lot of mainstream supermarkets in Stockholm carry a variety of vegan products. Still, most people don’t know what they are. Sometimes I catch people glancing at the “weird things” in my basket or at the checkout, but most times I don’t even think about it. When I was buying the puff pastry for this recipe, the cashier rung it up and then looked at me and asked, “Are these vegan?” I smiled, because I had never said I was vegan. However, she had obviously recognized me and my previous purchases and was curious of how something called, literally, butter dough in Swedish, could be vegan?! “Yes, I replied, there is actually no butter in butter dough.” Only real butter dough contains butter! So there are two lessons here: 1) Read, read, read those ingredients and you too will find more ‘accidentally vegan’ products. 2) They are watching you, and they are curious.
As far as vegan cheeze goes, the choice of exactly which kind you use is up to you. I felt that a cheddar style worked well here, but my favorite melty cheeze is a mozzarella style – so I used a little of each!
I always think that these kind of pastry dishes look some fancy and complicated, but making these black bean empanadas are a snap! So shuck the last of the season’s fresh corn, invite over some friends and bake up a batch today!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup (2.4 dl) - black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 Cup (2.4 dl) - corn (I boiled one fresh ear and cut the corn off the cob)
- 1 Cup (2.4 dl) - spring onions, chopped
- 1 Cup (2.4 dl) - grated vegan cheeze (I used a 50/50 cheddar/mozzarella)
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) - tomato purée
- ½ oz (14 g) - organic taco spice mix, roughly 1 Tbsp (15 ml)
- 1 Tbsp (15 ml) - water
- a handful of cilantro
- 6 puff pastry sheets - I used 4.5 x 4.5 inch square sheets (12 cm x 12cm)
- flour - so the pastry doesn't stick
- ½ Cup ( 1.2 dl) - plant-based milk
- ½ Cup ( 1.2 dl) - vegan margarine, melted
Method
- Throw all the ingredients apart from the last four, into a bowl and mix well.
- Flour your countertop or working surface. I like my pastry sheets to be rectangular, so using a rolling pin I rolled them out a little until I got the shape I wanted.
- Place some of the bean mixture into roughly the middle of the pastry, maybe a little closer to one edge. Fold the top part of the pastry over the mixture.
- Wet your fingers a little and moisten the top edge of pasty. Then, fold the bottom edge of pastry over the top edge, and crimp them together using a fork. This will ensure that none of your mixture oozes out during baking!
- Repeat this for all of your empanadas, and then brush them all with the milk, covering the entire surface. Then, AFTER you have brushed them, make a small incision in the top of each. This allows steam to escape and will keep your empanadas from bursting.
- Place them on an oven tray, lined with parchment paper, and bake at 400 F (200 C) for about 12-15 minutes keeping an eye on them so they don't burn.
- Remove them from the oven, brush the melted butter on them to give them a nice shine, and serve with some guacamole and a salad!