Baked Empanadas {Vegan}

Day 215.

We love empanadas in our house and have made both savory Beefy Empanadas and sweet Stone Fruit Empanadas. Rewind to BlogHer Food ’11. I met Rachel of Hounds in the Kitchen and, as I’m inclined to do, I trolled her Web site later. I found this fantastic-sounding empanadas on her site.

Empanadas
Adapted from Empanadas.
Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons shortening or margarine
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic minced and sauteed lightly in olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1 tablespoons yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons salt
• 3 – 3.5 cups flour (an equal mix of all purpose, white whole wheat, and bread flours is ideal)

• 1 pound crimini mushrooms – diced small
• 1/2 large red onion
• 4 large cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup cranberry juice, split into two equal portions
• salt
• pepper
• 2 cups vegan queso fresco (try this recipe or sub vegan feta)

Stir in oil, soy milk and yeast. Stir thoroughly, an let the yeast get its groove on for 5 minutes. Add the sauteed garlic. Stir in the flour and salt. Add extra flour if the dough is still sticky.

Knead the dough for 10 minutes in a kitchen aid or by hand until smooth and elastic. Allow to rise in a warm place until double in bulk, approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Saute the garlic and onions lightly in olive oil. Add the walnuts and then the mushrooms. Add paprika, cayenne and salt/pepper to taste. When the mushrooms start releasing juices, add half the cranberry juice. Let cook down, stirring occasionally. After 15 minutes, add other half of cranberry juice. Cook for 2 more minutes and then let cool.

Punch down dough and let rest for five minutes. Divide dough into eight pieces, then roll flat and round. Spoon approximately 1/2 cup cooled filling onto bottom half of each dough circle.

Sprinkle with the cheese, then fold dough over to make a pocket around the filling.

Crimp or fold edges to seal. Brush with an egg wash if desired. Bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 350, or until the pies are browned and done.

Note: Empanadas can be filled, wrapped, and frozen on a cookie sheet before baking. When ready to bake, thaw completely and bake as directed.

The Results
I absolutely loved the filling. But for whatever reason, whether it was the switch to non-butter or something else in the recipe, I had to add a lot of flour. As a result, the empanadas were a lot more “poofy” than I like. I’d highly recommend using the vegan dough recipe for Beefy Empanadas instead. Super tasty. Just not that crunchy “snap” that I like my empanadas to have.

This post is shared with Real Food Wednesday, Recipes I Can’t Wait to Try, What’s Cooking Wednesday, What’s on Your Plate?, What’s on the Menu Wednesday, Let’s Do Brunch, Works for me Wednesday, Gold Star Wednesday, These Chicks Cooked, Foodie Wednesday, Cast Party Wednesday and No Whine Wednesday.