Back-to-School Black Bean & Sweet Potato Empanadas

The hand pie may be one of the world’s best food creations.  Whether it’s a piroshky, a Pop Tart, a beerock or an empanada, the idea of tucking something sweet or savory into a little pocket of dough is an idea embraced by food cultures the world over. It’s an easy way to have a snack or a meal on the go with relatively minimal mess, which makes these Black Bean and Sweet Potato Empanadas perfect for back-to-school and back-to-work lunch boxes. (I know, I don’t want to think about it, either, and I don’t have kids).

What makes these empanadas great is that the dough is adapted from Cooking Light, making it much lighter than traditional empanadas. That said, one of these days, I will try Pati Jinich’s recipe, which includes ½ lb. butter and cream cheese in the dough. You know that’s gonna be good.

The folks at Pacific Foods were kind enough to send me some samples of their new organic bean line, which includes both black and pinto refried beans and baked beans. Whole Foods is carrying them nationwide (75 cents off coupon currently available here). While the Tetra-pak boxes are a smidge smaller than a standard can (13.6 oz. versus 15 oz), they also don’t have sharp edges or require a can opener, which is good if you want to get your little ones in on making these empanadas.

The black refrieds are featured here along with chipotle-scented sweet potatoes and corn.  I can’t say they’ll ease the transition back to school and work, but they will make lunch a little more delicious.

Print Recipe

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Empanadas

Serves: 12 empanadas

Cooking Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 13.6 oz. box Pacific Foods refried black beans with green chiles
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 ½ c. garnet yam, cut into ½ in. dice
• ½ t. chipotle chile powder
• pinch of salt
• ~ ½ c. corn kernels (from 1 ear)
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 2 c. all-purpose flour + extra for rolling out the dough
• 3/4 t. kosher salt
• 1/3 c. canola oil
• 1/4 c. cold water
• 1 T. cider vinegar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

2

To make the dough, whisk together the flour and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, water, vinegar and 1 egg. Add the wet ingredients to the try and stir just until combined. Form the dough into a disk, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3

Filling

4

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Toss the yam with chipotle powder and olive oil. Add to the skillet and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking to the pan.

5

In a medium bowl, stir together the black beans, yam, corn and cumin.

6

On a floured board, roll the empanada dough into a log. Divide the dough into 12 even portions. Roll the each portion into a ~ 5 inch circle. Add 2-3 T. of filling to the bottom half of the circle. Using your fingers, moisten the bottom edge of the dough with water and fold the top of dough over to form a half circle.

7

Pinch the edges closed with the tines of a fork and put the empanada on the baking sheet. When all empanadas have been made, brush them with egg white.

8

Bake for 16-20 minutes until beginning to lightly brown.

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