Feeling spicy?

I ran across this recipe on some vegetarian website and it caugh my eye. For one, it's vegan. For two, it pairs 2 of my favorite things: black beans and bananas. Boy have I been on a banana kick lately! Anyway, if you're feeling adventurous and looking for a yummy meal, give these a try.




Banana Black Bean Empanadas:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 4 Tbsp butter (or vegan butter!), cubed
• 1/2 cup applesauce (it said unsweetened, I only had sweetened and it worked fine)
• 1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 cup (ish) chopped onion
• I added 1/3 cup(ish) chopped green pepper, although the original recipe did not call for it
• 1 cup cooked black beans (or straight from a can)
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 bananas, chopped into small chunks
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp cilantro
• a dash or 2 of your favorite hot sauce (I don't like hot sauce, but I put it in anyway and it was great!)

Okay, to make the dough, mix together your flours, salt, and chili powder. Mix in your butter (or vegan butter) with your fingers until the flour makes a coarse, crumbly meal.

In a separate bowl, whisk together your vinegar and applesauce. Add this to your four mixture and mix until it forms a dough. Knead in additional flour (not more than 1/4 cup) if necessary for dough to come together. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (or as long as overnight...).

Now, when you're ready to make your filling, saute your onions (and peppers) in a little bit of oil for about 5 minutes - until the onions become clear. Add in your black beans and garlic and simmer on medium heat for 2-3 more minutes. Throw in the bananas and cumin and cook until the bananas become soft and mushy. Then remove from heat and stir in your cilantro and hot sauce.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grab your dough from the fridge and divide it into 8 pieces (the recipe said 12, but I only got 8 out of it. This did leave me with some left over filling, but John ate it all - straight from the pan no problem. Seriously. See below)















Take each piece of dough and roll it into a small circle (about 5 or 6 inches). Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling in the middle of each dough circle. Brush the edges of the dough with a little bit of water, fold dough over the filling, and seal by pressing the edges with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Chill empanadas in the fridge for 10 minutes (I put them in the freezer for 3 and we survived), bake for 20, and let cool for 5 before serving. Enjoy your scrumptious creation!















Yum yum!