Cupboard scrounging: black bean empanadas

Despite my love of cooking and general obsession with food, I sometimes get busy with other stuff and when dinner time rolls around I find I've forgotten to go grocery shopping since what seems like the Carter administration. Since I'm a) lazy, and b) cheap, the end result is usually a dinner thrown together from various non-perishables floating around my kitchen cupboards. Last night was one of those evenings and the end result was these:




Black bean empanadas! These were quick to prepare, filling, and even tasted pretty good! I also had leftovers so lunch today was all taken care off as well. This recipe makes enough dough and filling for eight empanadas. I made it up mostly out of my head so no guarantees on authenticity.

Empanada dough
2c. flour
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp. vinegar
2/3 c. cold water


Black bean filling
2 c. cooked black beans
1 c. diced tomatoes (I used three roma tomatoes)
1 small onion, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

1. Prepare the dough. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the oil to the flour and mix--the flour will become somewhat crumblike. Add vinegar and 1/3 c. water and knead together. Slowly add the remaining water until the mixture becomes a soft (but not sticky!) dough. Roll dough into a ball and leave to sit while you prepare the filling

2. Filling: In a frying pan on a medium heat stove, heat the oil. Add garlic, onion, and jalapeno, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cumin, coriander, and tomato and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the black beans and cook for another 5-10 minutes, until everything is nicely heated. Turn off the stove and get going on rolling dough.


3. Divide the dough into eight pieces. On a lightly floured board, roll each piece into a roughly 6" circle.

4. Place approximately 1/2 c. black bean filling on each dough circle, like so:


5. Fold half the dough over the fillings and crimp around the edges with a fork. Repeat until all the empanadas are filled. Place on a baking sheet and get ready to stick those guys in the oven:


6. Bake at 350F for ~25 minutes, until empanadas are lightly browned. Remove from oven, allow to cool for a few moments (unless you are into burning the roof of your mouth off, in which case, okay, cool, whatever floats your boat), then enjoy!

These empanadas were great with a little guacamole, and I bet salsa would pair nicely too: