Empanadas : Low Carb and Vegan

As regular readers know, this blog brings a variety of articles. studies, thoughts, music and recipes! It is presented in a magazine style - we hope something for everyone. Our main focus is about the Low Carb Higher (Healthy) Fat lifestyle, LCHF for short, and you can read/find out more about that here

In recent months we have seen that more and more we have regular readers, and followers, who choose to eat vegetarian or vegan. With that in mind I am passing on this recipe suggestion from Martine at Low Carb Vegan Blog.

She says these empanadas "have crispy edges, crumbly buttery dough and a nice hearty filling" ... "Once you get the hang of rolling out and shaping the dough, these are surprisingly easy to make, and they are super filling too!"

An empanada is a Spanish, or Latin American, pastry turnover filled with a variety of savoury ingredients and baked or fried. The recipe below is a lower carb vegan version.

Ingredients:
Serves: 8 empanadas
1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup cold margarine, cubed
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1 pinch of salt
3-4 tablespoons water
1/2 cup tvp, tofu or seitan
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons tomato sauce

Instructions:
In a bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, margarine, psyllium husk and salt. Use your hands to create a crumbly dough (you can also do this in a food processor). Add the water and knead a little more. The dough may seem a bit too wet, but it will firm up as the flour absorbs the water. Divide the dough into 8 small balls and put them into the fridge to rest for about 5-10 minutes.

For the filling, put the tvp in a small pot and add water until it is almost covered. Add the soy sauce and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Stir in the tomato sauce and allow to cool a little.

Preheat the oven to 180 C / 350 F. Gas Mark 4. Take the dough from the fridge and roll it out into 2 mm (a little less than 1/8 inch) round disks, using a cut open zip-lock bag to keep it from sticking. If you have a tortilla press, this is a good moment to use it.

When you have a piece of dough rolled out, put about a tablespoon of filling in the centre. Fold over the plastic to close and shape the empanada. This may be a bit finicky at first, but don't panic, you'll get the hang of it. If the dough tears, just smooth out the cracks by gently rubbing the plastic with your fingers. Carefully peel off the plastic from the shaped empanada and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake the empanadas for about 12 minutes. Allow to cool a little and enjoy! They taste good warm and cold. Serve with a nice fresh salad, of your choice, on the side.

One serving (1/4 recipe or 2 empanadas) contains about 300 kcal, 21 g fat (5 g saturated), 7 g net carbohydrate, 13 g fibre, 11 g protein.

If you should need help with measurement/weight conversion see here

Find Martine's blog and recipe suggestion here

Just another reminder that, this blog brings a variety of articles and recipe ideas, and it is important to note, not all may be suitable for you. If you may have any food allergies, or underlying health issues these must always be taken into account. If you are a diabetic and not sure how certain foods may affect your blood sugars, test is best, i.e. use your meter.

All the best Jan