Meatless Monday is an excellent challenge in our house now to get creative. We’re cooking lots of new things and scouring magazines and blogs for fun vegetarian ideas. These empanadas came from a back issue of Food & Wine.
I have an ever building stack of magazines and refuse to let go of the food ones. I insist on recycling, almost immediately, all other magazines that come in the mail. My issues of Food & Wine and Bon Appetit, however, are saved from the black hole of the recycling bag. I can’t subscribe to more food magazines, though there are others I may covet, because we just don’t have the space.
More often than not, it is Meatless Monday to the rescue of these magazines. Dishes like these empanadas that come out of my little archive (in my opinion) are justification enough for the growing collection. The dough is different from what we’ve previously used for empanadas and, of course, the filling lacked the meat we’ve previously done. The newness was welcome, we chomped down these tasty pockets a little quicker than I’d care to admit.
Spinach Empanadas
Adapted from Food & Wine, May 2011
Dough
- 1 1⁄2 cups water
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tspn paprika
- 3 3⁄4 c. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Filling
- 10 oz. spinach
- 1/2 c. corn, blanched
- 1/4 lb. green beans
- 1 c. peas, blanched
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp mint, chopped
In a small saucepan, combine the water, salt, butter and paprika and bring to a boil. Pour the mixture into a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. Stir in the 3 3/4 cups of flour until the dough comes together. On a lightly floured work surface, gently knead the dough until smooth. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
In a saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the spinach for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach to a colander. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until tender, 4 minutes. Drain and finely chop the green beans. Squeeze the excess water from the spinach, then coarsely chop it.
In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach, green beans, peas, and corn, stirring, until heated through, about 2 minutes. Stir in the mint and season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly oil 2 large baking sheets. On a floured work surface, roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out 32 rounds from the dough. Moisten the edge of 1 dough round with water. Mound 1 tablespoon of the vegetable filling on half of the round and fold the other side over. Press to seal the dough and pinch at intervals to make pleats. Repeat with the remaining dough rounds and filling.
Arrange the empanadas on the prepared baking sheets and bake in the upper and lower thirds of the oven for about 30 minutes, until browned. Serve the empanadas warm or at room temperature.
Make ahead: Dough and filling can be made one day ahead. Store separately in the refrigerator; assemble the empanadas the following day.
