Name: Homemade Mediterranean Empanadas
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 cup All purpose Flour; 1/4 cup Rapeseed Oil or Vegetable Oil; 1/4 cup Soy Milk or Plantbased; 2 tbsp Corn Flour; 1/2 tsp Turmeric; 1/2 tsp Baking Powder; 1/3 tsp Salt; 100 g Firm Tofu; 70 g Borlotti Beans; 25 g Tomato Puré; 2 tbsp Soy Milk or Plantbased; 1 tbsp Capers; 1 tbsp Nutritional Yeast; 1/2 tsbp Chopped Basil; 1 tsp Oregano; 1 Garlic Clove; Salt; Pepper

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Learn how to make these homemade vegan empanadas filled with tofu, borlotti and a blend of Mediterranean herbs and spices.

Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in Italiano.

How many of you like empanadas??
And how many of you have tried to make empanadas at home?

I bet that only a fraction of those that answered yes to the first question also answered positively to the second one! Am I right?

Well, my mission today is to show and teach you how easy and rewarding is to make these tasty homemade empanadas with a Mediterranean twist.

What are Empanadas?

An empanada is a stuffed bread or pastry baked or fried in many countries of Latin America and the south of Europe. The name comes from the verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough or bread patty around the stuffing.
The stuffing can consist of a variety of meats, vegetables, or even fruits (credits).

How to make Empanadas

First we start with the dough.

Typically the dough is made with flour, butter, milk and sometimes even eggs.
For my vegan dough I used rapeseed oil instead of butter (any vegetable oil will do if you don't have rapeseed), soy milk (I personally like soy milk in cooking and baking, but if you're not a fan or you cannot consume soy feel free to substitute it with any other plant-based alternative), a bit of baking powder for a very light rise, and a touch of turmeric for both colour and flavour.
All we need to do is to combine all the ingredients, knead the dough for a bunch of minutes and let it rest for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before rolling and cut it into discs.

Second step is the filling.
As mentioned we can free our creativity and go savoury, traditional, crazy or even sweet.
For this recipe I picked a very nutritious filling with a Mediterranean flavour. I combined tofu and borlotti beans for a bunch of proteins and fibers, and tomato concentrate, capers and herbs for a Mediterrane-y flavour, perfect for a summer treat!

Third step: shaping the empanadas.
We have the dough and the filling. All we need to do now is to roll the dough, cut discs, fill each disc with our Mediterrane-y filling, fold it and seal the edges.

Final step: baking the empanadas.
All it remains it to bake our empanadas in a preheated oven for up to 30 minutes, until crispy and golden.

Aren't they just mouth-watering?

For this recipe I've also made a video for you to watch that better explains how to make these Mediterranean Empanadas! You can find it on my YouTube Channel, or at the end of this recipe.

If you make these Empanadas, don't forget to tag me on Instagram or Facebook @avegtastefromatoz or #aVegTasteFromAtoZ .

If you have Pinterest, PIN this for later!

And if you have any questions about this or other recipes that I share, you are very welcome to ask!

Watch the Video of these Mediterranean Empanadas here!

Mediterranean Empanadas Recipe

Ingredients:

...for the dough...
1 cup All purpose Flour
¼ cup Rapeseed Oil or Vegetable Oil
¼ cup Soy Milk or Plantbased
2 tablespoon Corn Flour
½ teaspoon Turmeric
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
⅓ teaspoon Salt
...for the filling...
100 g Firm Tofu
70 g Borlotti Beans
25 g Tomato Puré
2 tablespoon Soy Milk or Plant-based
1 tablespoon Capers
1 tablespoon Nutritional Yeast
½ tbsp Chopped Basil
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 Garlic Clove
Salt
Pepper

Method:

1. In a food processor combine flour, salt, turmeric and baking powder.
2.From the feed tube, while the blender is still on, pour the plant based milk (lightly warm) and the vegetable oil.
3. Transfer the dough onto a flour dusted surface. Add the corn flour and kneed for a few minutes, adding more flour if it seems too wet. Cover the dough and allow to rest for at least 30 minutes.
4.In the same food processor (there's no need to wash it) add tomato pure, garlic, capers, basil, oregano and plant based milk. Blend until well combined. Add borlotti beans firm tofu roughly crumbled with the hands and pulse the blender to obtain a pretty chunky mixture (this step it's totally up to you, blend more or less the filling according to your own taste). Set aside.
5. Preheat the oven at 180°C/350°F.
6. Roll the dough to a thickness of 3-4 mm. Cut circles of roughly 10 cm diameter.
7. Fill every circe of dough with a spoonful of filling. Fold into a half moon shape, seal the edges, then pinch and twist the dough to create the typical curly edges.
8. Arrange onto a baking tray and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden. For a nicer finish you can also brush some plant based milk on each empanada.
9. Serve the empanadas preferably warm and...enjoy!