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Flakey Empanadas (vegan, gf, df, non-vegan option)

See below for pastry-dough recipe

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Empanadas (df, gf, vegan, non-vegan option)

My partner is from Argentina and every time we visit I love sampling the different varieties of empanadas, a traditional Argentine favorite. They even have gluten-free bakeries that sell them as gluten-intolerance has started rearing it's ugly head in South America. I have to say, this recipe takes the cake for my favorite homemade gluten-free empanada, and I even make them with Beyond Beef so they're completely plant-based. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 45 minutes
Course: Main Course, Snack
Cuisine: Argentine
Keyword: empanada

Equipment

  • Rolling Pin
  • parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil divided
  • 1 lb. ground Beyond Beef – or bison / grass-fed ground beef for non-vegan
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 small red bell peppers seeded, chopped
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • Sea salt freshly ground pepper
  • 3 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
  • 1.5 Tbsp. dried oregano
  • ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste + 1/2 cup water or 1/2 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 cup veggie stock or broth
  • 2 tsp coconut sugar
  • 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
  • 1 cup frozen peas / corn
  • Optional- 1/2 cup chopped banana peppers
  • 1 batch gluten-free pastry dough, chilled for 1 hour
  • For traditional Argentine-style: ½ cup pitted green olives Picholine or Spanish, rinsed well, cut in half lengthwise
  • 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp non-dairy milk for egg wash omit for vegan

Instructions

  • Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large pot over high. Cook beef, breaking up with a spoon, until browned but not completely cooked through, 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl with a slotted spoon, leaving as much fat in pan as possible.
  • Reduce heat to medium and cook onion for 5 minutes in the remaining 1 Tbsp. oil, then add bell peppers and garlic stirring until tender but not browned, another 3-5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
  • Add cumin, paprika, oregano, and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste/sauce, veggie stock and reserved beef along with any accumulated juices to pot. Stir in sugar, 2 tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits, until most of the liquid is evaporated, 15–20 minutes; taste and season with salt and black pepper, if needed. Stir in peas, corn, cilantro, and banana peppers. Transfer to a medium bowl, cover, and chill at least 3 hours.
  • While the filling is chilling, remove the chilled pastry dough from fridge and sit at room temp for 15 minutes. Place 2 large pieces of parchment paper in a work area and remove one round of dough. Place between parchment paper and roll out until 1/8 inch thick. If it breaks apart, knead in hands until it softens more. Cut with something circular and about 4 inches in diameter (I used a glass pyrex dish). Place between parchment paper or plastic wrap and stack with one layer of wrap between each completed round. Keep in large container in fridge while you continue with the rest of the dough. 
  • Preheat oven to 375°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or silicone mat). Let dough sit at room temperature 15 minutes to temper.
  • Remove 6-8 rounds from bunch, keeping plastic divider underneath to make it easier to fold, and arrange on a baking pan. Place 2 Tbsp. filling in the center of each round. Top with 2 olive halves (optional). Brush water around half of outer edge of each round. Using plastic divider to help you, fold round over filling and pinch edges to seal. Using a fork, crimp edges. Remove plastic and transfer empanada to a parchment-lined sheet tray, spacing 1" apart. Repeat with remaining rounds (you’ll get about 12 empanadas on each tray).
  • Mix egg yolk and milk for egg wash. Brush the top of each empanada with wash. Omit for vegan.
  • Bake empanadas, rotating tray halfway through, until golden brown and slightly darker around the edges, 25–35 minutes.
  • Serve with fresh squeezed lemon and Cholula, if you like hot sauce 🙂
  • Do Ahead: Filling can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Unbaked empanadas can be made 3 months ahead; freeze on sheet tray, then transfer to freezer bags and keep frozen.

Notes

Do Ahead: Filling can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled. Unbaked empanadas can be made 3 months ahead; freeze on sheet tray, then transfer to freezer bags and keep frozen.
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Pastry Dough (gf, df)

It's taken me years to find a good flakey pastry dough that doesn't have butter, but this one is the winner. Made with dairy-free cream cheese and vegan butter, this dough will definitely become a favorite for all of your pastry dough needs. Savory and sweet option by altering the cream cheese flavor.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Keyword: pastry, pastry dough

Equipment

  • stand mixer

Ingredients

  • 1 8 oz container Kite Hill cream cheese plain for sweet dishes, but I love Everything flavor for savory, like empanadas
  • ¼ cup maple sugar granulated monk fruit, or coconut sugar (will slightly darken dough)
  • 1 cup arrowroot starch
  • 2 cups gluten-free flour blend
  • 1/3 cup almond flour
  • 1 tsp xanthan gum 1/2 tsp if flour blend already has it
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 8 oz package of Miyokos Vegan Butter palm shortening, or non-dairy butter of choice (cut into ¼ inch pieces and frozen for 15 min)
  • 2 tbsp ice water
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
  • Add all flours, xanthan gum and salt on top of mixed cream cheese. Do not mix in quite yet.
  • Scatter cold butter over top of flours and mix all in with a hook attachment, until butter is the size of large peas.
  • Add water and rice vinegar and mix until dough comes together.
  • Divide dough into 5 even pieces.
  • Turn each piece of dough onto sheet of plastic wrap and flatten to make 5 inch disks.
  • Wrap each piece tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hr, or overnight.
  • Before rolling out, let it sit on counter to soften slightly (about 10 min).
  • Bake as instructed for recipe. Can also make 2 days ahead and wrap in plastic wrap in fridge before using.

Notes

Can also make 2 days ahead and wrap in plastic wrap in fridge before using.
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Paleo Pumpkin Bread

It’s begun.

Fall has officially arrived and is distinctly marked by all of the “PSL” advertising, deliciously fragrant pumpkin candles lining store checkouts, and abundance of Uggs warming cold toesies.

I officially made “the switch” from a standard American diet to a 90% paleo diet in 2014 in an effort to get to the root of my anxiety, IBS and depression (I still eat rice and corn here and there on special occasions, but the bulk of what I eat is veggies and clean animal proteins…and chocolate). Eliminating these foods is one of the main reasons why I feel so much more balanced, all without prescription drugs. Western doctors told me my imbalances were genetic and that my food had no influence, but that medication would help with my chronic symptoms. Well, I proved them wrong, just like so many of you who are taking your health into your own hands. Within weeks of eliminating gluten, dairy, sugar and coffee (in conjunction with hypnotherapy), I felt better than I had in years.

However, I still grieved the foods I had grown accustomed to eating. I remember the first Fall when I realized I couldn’t order a pumpkin scone or pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks. This was a tragic moment in my life – what is Fall without PSL?! I even prepared by wearing my Uggs and Lululemon!

To re-convince myself about why I was eliminating this stuff, I decided to look up what was in the pumpkin syrup used in the infamous PSL. In an effort to make the transition easier, I had started recreating some of my favorite comfort foods (like chocolate chip cookies) and found seeing the ingredients was a helpful place to start. In my blissful ignorance, I was shocked when I read the nutritional labels for the scone and latte. At the time, they were using high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring in their recipes – both of which are carcinogenic and cause developmental delays. They’ve since omitted caramel color but still use high-fructose corn syrup in most of their popular recipes. You can read more about the dangers of caramel coloring here, because even though Starbucks has taken it out of recipes, it’s still hidden in all kinds of products, from cough drops to condiments, as shown below.

The more you learn about the food industry, the more you realize you have to take your health into your own hands. Companies are getting away with putting toxic chemicals in foods that children eat, all for the sake of aesthetic. So please, read your labels and be a responsible consumer, for the sake of your health and the health of future generations. 

This pumpkin bread recipe is obviously free of anything inflammatory or toxic, and instead is loaded with nutrient-dense ingredients that will not only fuel you, but will also satiate the craving you have for something fall-y! I always double the recipe and freeze some pre-sliced pieces to pop in the toaster at any time. I found an organic maple butter that is to die for and it goes perfectly on a piece of toasted pumpkin bread. And guess what? It has one ingredient: maple syrup. Guess how many ingredients Starbucks pumpkin scones have? 39. Yep. And those ingredients include soybean oil, high fructose corn syrup, wheat, dairy, and a truckload of preservatives, all of which contribute to chronic inflammation and disease. There’s a reason why people feel SO much better when they eliminate these foods. You are what you eat, so choose wisely 🙂 

PALEO PUMPKIN BREAD RECIPE

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 8×4-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper so that the paper drapes over the sides like handles, then lightly coat with spray again.
  2. In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, protein powder, arrowroot, collagen, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin spice. In a separate bowl or stand mixer, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla. 
  3. Slowly combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. Fold in any desired mix-ins.
  4. Scrape into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake for 42 to 48 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool 30 minutes. Gently lift out the bread with the parchment overhang and place on the rack to finish cooling completely. Slice and enjoy with ghee, grass-fed butter or my personal favorite, maple butter. 

Notes: double and freeze pre-sliced pieces that you can toast whenever you want. Will keep well in freezer for 3 months.