Does anyone else have the courgette dilemma? You look in the fridge and there’s one lonely courgette sitting in the bottom of the vegetable drawer, looking to be loved – just waiting to be spiced up and devoured?
So, here’s an idea for the Lonely Hearts Club of Left Over Vegetables – ready to cast a ray of sunshine on your day - an ideal recipe for a supper, lunch or for Vegan Tapas (good for parties).
An empanadilla is a Spanish pie or pastry. This recipe is for a large one to share (like a pie) but you can also make it into smaller ones to serve as a snack or Tapa.
Ingredients:
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped into ¼ inch cubes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
½ medium onion, sliced
1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon ground all spice
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon of paprika
1 courgette, trimmed and diced
1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon of roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
Lemon juice
Ready rolled puff pastry (vegan-friendly, Jus Rol, but careful to avoid the ‘all butter’ products)
1-2 tablespoons of soya or vegan milk for sticking the pastry together and glazing it.
Non-dairy spread for greasing the baking tray.
Instructions:
Make the filling. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion. Heat until softened. Add the garlic and spices and fry for a further minute. Stir in the potato and fry gently until almost cooked.
Stir in the courgette, pepper and chilli. Season with salt and pepper and then fry, gently stirring, over a low heat until the vegetables are soft. Add the parsley and a dash of lemon juice.
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
Grease a baking tray with non-dairy spread.
Roll out the pastry thinly on a well-floured worktop and cut out 2 x 20cm/8 inch circles, using a plate as a template.
Place one circle on the baking tray and pile half the filling on top. Dampen the edges by brushing non-dairy milk onto the edges. Cover with the second circle and seal the edges with a fork. Make 2 slashes on the top to allow the steam to escape.
Brush the top with some more of the non-dairy milk and bake in the pre-heated oven for above 35 minutes until golden brown.
Serve with a salad.
Note: for small Empanadillas, cut the pastry into 10cm/4 inch rounds, add a spoonful of filling and fold in half and bake for about 20 minutes.
From: Leiths Vegetarian Bible
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