Pumpkin Chili Empanadas

By blum099

Ingredients

• For the Filling:
• Ingredients (makes 10-12 Servings, depending on how big you make them)
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 1 Large Onion, Diced
• 3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
• 1 1/2 Cup Red or Orange Bell Pepper, Diced
• 1 cup Tomato, Diced
• 2 Cups Cooked Pumpkin, Chopped
• 1 14 oz. Can No Salt Added Black Beans
• 1-8 oz. Can Tomato Paste
• 2 Tbsp. Pickled Jalapeño, Minced
• 2 tsp. Chili Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. Dried Cilantro
• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 Cup Daiya Cheddar Shreds
• Super Easy DIY Pockets
• Makes 2 pockets
• Crust
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• Large pinch of bread topping

Details

Servings 10

Preparation

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium. Once hot place onions and garlic in pan and cook until the onions are clear, making sure to stir almost constantly. Next, add the bell pepper, tomato and pumpkin to the onions; saute together for roughly 5 minutes. Drain the can of black beans and rinse them, then add them to the pan along with the tomato paste, jalapeño, and spices.
Sprinkle the Daiya Cheddar Shreds throughout the pan and stir together so that everything is mixed well, and lower the heat of the pan to low-medium until the shreds are a little melted. We are not introducing extra liquid into the chili so that it does not make the crust soggy or hard to pick up once baked.

Pockets:
“Super Easy DIY Pockets

For the crust I used a recipe from Chow Vegan called “Super Easy DIY Pockets“, the only changes that I made to the recipe were that I quadrupled the recipe, used whole wheat flour (I would suggest using All Purpose instead) and added turmeric for the orange tint to the dough.
I rolled out the dough into 7″ circles that were about 1/8″ thick, then placed them into my little pastry folder-over and filled them with about 1/2 cup of the pumpkin chili. The one below is a bit too full!
I then proceeded to carve lil’ pumpkin faces into two of them and then I realized I was super short on time so I just punctured three holes in the top of the rest of them. I wish I would have been able to do all of them, look at how cute they are!
I then proceeded to carve lil’ pumpkin faces into two of them and then I realized I was super short on time so I just punctured three holes in the top of the rest of them. I wish I would have been able to do all of them, look at how cute they are!
Combine all of the crust ingredients, except the water and bread topping, in a bowl and mix until it looks like coarse meal. Add a little bit of water at a time, mixing until the dough comes together in a ball (I added less than a 1/4 cup of water).

Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on the work surface and rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick. Divide the dough in half and roll it out into a thin circle. The thinness should be based on what you’re planning to fill it with. For the pizza filling, it can be fairly thin; for something like the curry where it’s a bit more chunky, it should be thicker otherwise you start to get holes poking through.

Place the filling on one side, leaving about an 1/2 inch edge, do not over stuff. Carefully bring the other side over the top and press along the edges to seal. Repeat with the other dough half.

Place the pockets on a well-oiled baking sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Sprinkle with the bread topping. Bake for about 20 minutes until the top and edges are lightly browned and warmed through.