Chickpea empanadas
Submitted by Tamara Green
About the cook: I am passionate about cooking, honestly the moment a steak hits a hot, well season cast iron pan, I get so giddy. But I also am eagerly developing as many gluten- and dairy-free recipes as I can for myself and those like me who find themselves on a medically restricted diets. Your are not alone my friends, there are so many in the world share the same food journey as you, and I am one of them.
About the dish: These chickpea empanadas with a bright salsa fresca, or salsa verde, are so crave worthy, spicy, lightly smoky, flaky and mmm just so scrumptious.
National Origin: Columbia
Serves: 5
Estimated Time: 1 to 2 Hours
Ingredients:
chickpea filling:
80 grams onion, fine dice
1 each Chinese eggplant, fine dice
1 each jalapeno, fine dice
300 grams chickpeas, drained
1.25 millilitres black pepper, ground
2.5 millilitres cumin, toasted and ground
2.5 millilitres smoked paprika
1.25 millilitre coriander seed
cayenne pepper and kosher salt to taste
dough:
120 grams brown rice flour
120 grams sweet (glutnious) rice flour, plus extra for dusting
60 grams arrowroot starch/flour
120 grams dairy-free sourcream
60 grams shortening or butter, soft
1 each large egg
5 grams kosher salt
Preparation:
Sauté onion for four to five minutes. Add the eggplant and jalapeno. Cook for another minute. Remove from heat. Combine with remaining ingredients in a food processor. Pulse three times. Sear chickpeas with onion mix for one minute. Chill.
To make the dough place all the ingredients in the bowl on an electric standmixer, fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the dough is malleable and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Knead by hand for two minutes. Flatten into a disc. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour.
Divide the dough into ten pieces (about 60 grams each). Between two sheets of parchment paper, or thick poly plastic, roll each piece out to a 13 centimetres (five inch) round. Peel back the paper/plastic occasionally to keep it from sticking on the dough. Dust any sticky spots of the dough as needed with extra sweet rice flour. Repeat with remaining dough. Divide the chickpea mixture evenly among the pastry and place it off centre. Brush the edge of the rounds with egg. Bring the sides together, so it is a semi circle, and pinch with the flats of your fingertips, together to make a tight seal. Tidy up the edges by trimming them using a 11 centimetre (four inch) cookie cutter. For an extra flare you can choose to flute the edges like you would a pie. Arrange the empanadas in rows on the prepared sheetpans. Chill them in the refrigerator.
Heat a deep fryer to 190°C (375°F). And heat an oven also to 190°C (375°F).
When your fryer has reached the correct temperature, fry a few empanadas at a time until golden brown, four to five minutes. Drain excess oil. Finish by baking in the oven for minutes. Serve with a piquant salsa; you can spice up the salsa verde).