Empanada Vegetariana (Vegetarian Empanada)

Empanada vegetariana (Vegetarian empanada)

When I "#FireUpYourOven" to make this beautiful Vegetarian Empanada chosen it was the month of February in baking partners challenge recipe was suggested by Marisa of Thermofan.

Infact I had made it well in advance but somehow by the time I got down to writing it was the month of March. We had the next challenge.... Lazy me postponed again. But now I think its high time we take a look at this delicious pie that can be made egg-less.

Coming to the recipe...

Though we had a free hand in the choice of filling I wanted to stick as close as possible to the original recipe.

I liked the write up that was provided with the recipe so I am leaving it. In fact I did look up Galicia after I read the write up. I was not aware of this place.

“Galicia is an autonomous Community located in the in the northwest of Spain, right on top of Portugal. The cuisine of Galicia is well known for its variety and quality of its products, shown in many cases by 30 Galician products with designation of origin. Fish and seafood are famous for their quality.

The Galician empanada is a variety of popular stuffed bread in Galician cuisine and is part of its identity. Empanadas first appeared in medieval Iberia during the time of the Moorish invasions. The name comes from the Galician, Portuguese and Spanish verb “empanar”, meaning to wrap or coat in bread.

It is a culinary preparation offered in the municipalities of Galicia on the occasions of celebration. Nowadays it is baked all around Spain.

The dough is thin and made with wheat or corn flour, not cornstarch (similar or the same used for making bread).

It’s usually prepared with the fillings you can imagine: fish, seafood, veggies or meat and a mixture or vegetables called “zaragallada”. It can also be baked with sweet fillings. It’s delicious. Empanadas can be served as an appetizer, first course or “tapa”; freshly cooked or cold but are best at room temperature. “

We had two choices given by Marissa the famous, sardine’s empanada (in Galician called, “empanada de xoubas”) and the second one, a veggies empanada, is suitable for vegetarian people (empanada vegetariana). Both the recipes are
from Marissa’s friend, Milia, Cousas de Milia. These were the useful links she has thoughtfully provided.

Empanada vegetariana

Empanada de xoubas and dough

How to close a typical "empanada gallega"

Empanada vegetariana (Vegetarian empanada)

Not wanting to challenge my rolling out skills a lot I decided to go by a round empanada you can of course make it rectangular.

Let’s get the ingredients first for

Ingredients:

Filling (zaragallada):

150 ml extra virgin olive oil
500 g onions
65 g leek
3 garlic cloves minced
2 green chillies, chopped fine
45 g carrots
430 g red, green and yellow capsicum
120 g broccoli
130 g mushrooms
350 g ripe tomatoes
Salt & pepper
1 hardboiled egg (optional)
1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)

For Brushing:

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon of cold water for brushing

Dough (medium size):

175 ml lukewarm water
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon active yeast
200 g maida or all-purpose flour
50 g whole wheat flour
1 tblspn zaragallada’s oil or olive oil (oil from the pan
where you have cooked the filling)
1 teaspoon salt

Method:

First make the filling ideally it should be the day or night before. The filling is called the “zaragallada”.

Filling (zaragallada):

Wash and chop the veggies fine.
Heat the oil in a kadhai/wok.
Add the onion, green chillies, garlic and leek. Fry over medium heat until the onion is transparent.
Add the capsicums and the carrots and cook at medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the broccoli, mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes more.
Add the salt, pepper and red chilli powder (I could not take away the Indian from me)
Take the pan off the heat. Leave to cool for 20–30 minutes.
Put the filling in a colander and let drain overnight.
Do not forget to reserve a little oil for use in preparation of the dough.

Dough:

In a bowl dissolve yeast into 100 ml tepid water. Add sugar stir set aside till it proofs.
Meanwhile sift the flour and salt in a big bowl.
Make a well in the center and pour in the mixture of water and yeast, 2 tblspn of oil (zaragallada’s oil or olive oil) and using water as needed mix to make a slightly sticky (but not wet) and elastic dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead lightly.
Gradually, you can handle the dough faster, until the dough is smooth and elastic. This process takes about 15 minutes. Let it rest halfway through, knead lightly about 7 minutes, let it rest 5 minutes and then knead
another 7 minutes.
Form a ball and place on a floured bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let the dough ferment for about 30 to 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Assembling the empanada:

As I do not use paper in my baking I greased my mould.
Degas the fermented dough by pressing it gently and remove it to a lightly-floured work surface.
Divide dough in roughly ¾ and ¼. Cover ¼ half with a napkin to prevent drying.
Roll out the other half that is the ¾th of dough thin the size of a dinner plate and place it aside. In case your dough shrinks wait 10 minutes to relax and stretch again. The thinness of the dough will depend on your choice.
I set my oven to preheat at 180°C/350°F.
You can use a piece of baking paper or a silpat to transfer the dough to the counter (or baking tray) that will be easier but I did not use anything. I directly transferred the dough to the mould. The dough was big enough to overhang.
Spoon the cooled filling into the center and spread it out towards the edge, leaving a 2cm/1in border all the way around.
Roll out the remaining dough (slightly smaller than the base) and gently transfer it over the filling. Peel off the baking paper or silpat if using.
Pinch the edges to seal or use a fork or cutter.
Watch this video to see how it is done.
With left-over dough you can decorate the empanada, making some ornaments.

Empanada vegetariana (Vegetarian empanada) Before Baking

Make a small slit in the top to allow the steam to escape and helps baking without breaking the top layer.
Brush the empanada with beaten egg mixed a tablespoon of cold water. Paint the empanada with a pastry brush.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown (depending on your oven). Check that the bottom part is perfectly baked; let it cool on a cooling rack and then cut into wedges.

Empanada vegetariana (Vegetarian empanada) Cooling

Tips:

Using a hot filling will make the bottom layer of the empanada become soggy.
To obtain perfect dough, you may not need all the water depending on the type of flour you are using. The amount of water in dough’s, not always the same. Every flour has different power absorption. Therefore, if the flour is not known, don’t add any water at once ... in this case I reserve one third of the water and add it if necessary.
Try to make the filling as “dry” as possible.
Empanadas are better eaten the day of baking, but will stay fresh for a day more if stored in a cool place covered with foil. If the weather is hot, you might stick the completely cooled leftovers in the fridge.
Empanadas can be re-heated in a hot oven.
Empanadas cannot be frozen. Both, dough and filling are not very good after freezing.
Use left-over filling in small pizzas, crêpes, and samosa or eat it with a fried egg and a glass of good Spanish wine.

Empanada vegetariana (Vegetarian empanada)

A test to verify weather the yeast's job is done is when the dough is pressed with a fingertip, if the process is complete, the mark made with the finger gradually disappears. If the dough has not finished fermenting, the mark will disappear immediately. If has grown to excess your finger will leave a permanent mark.

Empanada Vegetariana (Vegetarian Empanada)