27/07/2010

Vegan Spinach Empanada


I am currently writing a little vegan recipe zine called "Who Ate All the Pies" that will be available to download in PDF format in Spring/Summer 2011.
My love of all things pie like is no secret. I can think of nothing better than a tasty sumptuous filling encased in pastry.
Pies are perfect for parties, picnics, quick nibbles and satisfying meals - all in all a total win in my books.
The next couple of recipes I am going to post will be little snippety teasers out of the zine which will hopefully whet your appetites and leave you shouting "WE WANT PIES!"
First up is Spinach Empanada.
Empanadas are basically Spanish pasties that are traditionally made with meat or tuna.
Not these babies.
What follows is a vegan twist on this typically Spanish food, so enjoy.

served with salad, new potatoes and hummous
Spinach Empanada
makes 6

For The Pastry
Ingredients
8oz Spelt Flour
3oz Vegan Margarine
Cold Water

Method
Place the flour into a bowl and add the margarine. Rub the margarine into the flour until it resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add water a little bit at a time and gather together to form a dough. If the dough is too sticky just add some more flour until it all comes together nicely.
Chill until needed.

For the filling
Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
half a cup of chopped onion
half a cup of chopped red pepper
half a cup of chopped mushrooms
1 leek, trimmed, washed and sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 Tablespoon Sea Vegetables
Handful of spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper

Method
Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onions, peppers and mushrooms. Cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes stirring regularly.
Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
Then add the tomatoes and leeks and cook for 10 minutes more.
Add the spinach, sea vegetables, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes stirring every now and then.
Check seasoning.
Leave to cool.


Heat oven to 200 degrees.
Take the pastry out of the fridge and lightly dust a work surface. Roll out the pastry and use whatever you have to cut 15 cm diameter rounds (I have a fancy pasty maker). Place each round onto a baking tray and spoon the filling into the middle. Each pasty will take about 5 tablespoons of filling. Wet one edge of the round with a little water and fold one edge of the pastry over the filling and use a fork to bind the edges together.
Brush with soya milk and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes.
Can be eaten hot or cold.


the money shot


16 comments:

Mihl said...

I agree, pies are awesome! I cannot wait for your zine. And yum empanadas! I should eat them more often.

Vic Robinson said...

Pies are great and your empanada looks awesome! I cant wait to read your zine!

kmouse said...

Amazing! A pie zine is genius!

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm, pie. Can't wait for your pie zine! Great idea.

The fancy pasty maker explains the perfect-ness of you pie (I was suspicious- it looked almost too neat to be true!), I'm totally adding one of those to my kitchen wish list! Thanks for the heads up.

Loving the money shot too :D

Bianca said...

That looks soooooo good. I'm also a huge fan of pie. So I can't wait for the zine!!

P.S. I'm glad the picture of the dead doggy is gone. I know those powerful images might turn people the right direction, but I always had to cover the right side of my screen with my hand I came by. :-)

Jen Treehugger said...

I thought of you and what you said when I got rid of it Bianca.
:)

Rose said...

I love pies too! Mostly savory ones though. Vegetable pie is my favourite...oh no wait lentil pie is good too :)

Rose

miss v said...

i can't wait! are you including calzones - the italian pie!?

The Voracious Vegan said...

I LOVE empanadas! And yours is too cute and perfect to be real. Just look at that delicious filling spilling out. I'm going to give these a try, thanks!

Just Us said...

Your empanada looks and sounds awesome! I've never had one, but yours sounds great. Looks like a must try for me!

River said...

How cool! I want to eat all the pies! And I want a pasty maker! May I have an empanada, please? *puppy eyes*

Anonymous said...

Yum! I want to try these, like, yesterday!

MeShell said...

For the record... I WANT PIES! Totally looking forward to the zine.

The empanada looks lovely.

Monica said...

What a beautiful pie. It's been far too long since I treated myself to one. I love the pic of the cross section - what colorful innards!

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

That empanada looks awesome!

sp said...

Can't wait for the zine! The Empanada looks amazing. I'm definitely going to try this one.