This evening I took an excursion into the unknown.
Taking a cue from an ethnic classic, I crafted some empanadas.
These were not standard empanadas. There was a twist. A dough pocket overhaul, so to speak. A transformation performed thanks to farm fresh vegetables and the ancient grain of spelt.
The empanada idea originated as I was googling recipes, trying to determine what interesting thing I could do to spice up the kohlrabi I received in my CSA this week. I was lucky to find the recipe featured here. I took a cue from this recipe to make my own crust.
I made some other substitutions and alterations, as needed…
First, I started off with roasting 2 small acorn squashes in the oven. As they were baking, I chopped up a plateful of veggies.
One onion, cloves from a small head of garlic, a large kohlrabi bulb, and three small radishes.
I then made the dough.
2.5 cups of spelt flour and a pinch of salt briefly whirred in the food processor. Following this, I added .75 cup of Earth Balance spread (my substitution), which I whirred until it appeared in pea-sized chunks (as in the above link.) Then, I poured in some cold water. I took the dough out of the processor, and shaped it into a ball.
Meanwhile, I poured some broth in a pan, and poured in the chopped vegetables. I let them cook down a bit and added some salt, pepper, tumeric and cinnamon. (Again, some adjustments from the above link.) The acorn squash was ready at this time, so I gingerly chopped it up (Hot from the oven, beware.) I tossed the squash in the pan and also added some nutmeg.
Now, it was time for the fun. Time to fill the pliable spelt fun-dough with veg filling. I formed rough circles out of the flattened dough and put the hot filling in the middle. I sealed up the edges of the sticky dough by hand.
The closed pockets then went onto a coconut oil greased casserole dish. I drizzled a mixture of arrowroot powder and water on top, to try and make a sort of glaze. (Not sure this step actually did anything. You could omit this arrowroot step, I’m sure.)
The empanadas took 30 minutes to bake, in an oven heated to 350. Meanwhile, I had loads of extra filling, waiting in the pan. What to do?
Make a side, perchance?
It worked out well. I turned up the heat on the pan, again, and added a few handfuls of fresh dill, and a few pats of butter. Mixing took place.
Finally, this:
A trio of flavors, moving in gradation from the dense & delicious savory pocket, to the tangy dilled side, to a tender simple salad of local lettuce.
What’s your favorite trio of flavors?
Crisp and Verdant 