Lentil, Kale and Sweet Potato Empanadas

I was so excited to try this recipe but as you will see it became difficult (and as you may know, I don’t do difficult) so I came up with a different solution. I would highly suggest you go with my “pot pie” version of this recipe but if you are up for a challenge, by all means…

Lentil, Kale and Sweet Potato Empanadas – Adapted from YumUniverse

Ingredients:


For Dough

• 2 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sweet potato, cooked and soft
• 1 1/2 tsp fine ground sea salt
• Coconut oil, optional, for extra browning/glaze
• 1-3 tbsp cold water

For Filling

• 1 cup green lentils, soaked overnight in water with a pinch of sea salt (soaked and cooked will yield 3 cups)
• 1/4 cup walnuts, soaked overnight in water with a pinch of sea salt
• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped into very small pieces
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 4-5 large kale leaves, remove stems
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• Fine ground sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

1. Before you went to bed last night you hopefully put your lentils in a bowl, and your walnuts in another bowl, added a pinch of salt to each and filled them with water. If not, and you want to make this recipe now, you can skip those steps, but next time be sure to soak your nuts and legumes. Soaking makes assimilation of these nutrient dense ingredients so much better.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

3. Rinse lentils and place in a large saucepan. Add 3 cups of the vegetable broth (set aside that extra 1/2 cup) and bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until a firm but tender texture is achieved. If you didn’t soak the lentils, you may need to add a cup or two of water (you can drain the extra liquid once they are cooked).

4. In a large pan, add 1 tbsp coconut oil and brown onions for about 5-7 minutes over medium heat. While onions are cooking, finely chop your walnuts and apricots. Add both to your onions and continue cooking for about 5 more minutes. While cooking, wash and remove stems from kale. Roughly chop the kale and set aside. Add minced garlic and cinnamon to the pan and cook together 3 minutes.

5. Add that 1/2 cup of vegetable broth to the pan as well as your kale leaves. Stir together until kale is wilted down. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

6. Place all dough ingredients, except the optional coconut oil, into a large bowl. You can start using a fork to mix it all together, or if you feel like getting dirty, go straight for using your hands. You may need to add a few tbsp of water. Once you can form a nice ball of dough, lay out a cookie sheet-sized piece of parchment paper on the counter.

7. Place about half the dough onto the parchment paper or a floured surface and roll out the dough relatively thin (I followed the original directions and mine fell apart so I guess use your best judgement).

8. Use the large glass/bowl to cut rounds in the dough.

9. Now spoon enough filling onto your round to leave 1/4″ edge and half of the round empty. Fold over your dough into a half moon shape. Use a fork to seal the edges and place onto a cookie sheet. Continue until you fill your sheet. I made enough to fill two sheets. ALTERNATIVE – use either a muffin tin or small ramekins and lay the dough circle inside, pushing it up against the sides, fill the cavity with lentil mix and cover with another dough round, press down to close.

10. Place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.