Empanadas. If you stuff food into a pastry, I’m so totally there. The word “empanada” is derived from the Spanish verb empanar meaning “to wrap with bread”. Empanadas in Spain can either be made as small finger foods or similar to a pie that’s cut into slices.

These little savory pockets are so revered in Spain, that even a 12th century sculptor captured the food in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. From this carving, you could totally tell the upper crust really enjoyed their empanadas.

But, not everyone was allowed to enjoy them…in the same cathedral, these poor guys condemned to the pits of Hell forever tormented by not being able to eat their empanadas because of the leather straps around their necks.

I found many recipes for empanda dough but one thing remained the same – you have to really knead the dough. In fact, I came across this Galacian saying, ‘Making love and making dough for empanadas should never be rushed.’ Did Veggin’ just transfer from a PG to a PG-13 site with that? Uh, okay, moving on…

I put these empanadas together by adapting a couple of recipes. The pastry is almost biscuit-like when it puffs up in the heated oil. The filling is a traditional pisto a sort of Spanish ratatouille. The pisto recipe makes a lot, but don’t be afraid of freezing the leftovers to eat later. It goes well as a sandwich or thrown in an omelet.

Featured Recipes Saffron Potatoes Grilled Zucchini Artichoke Manchego Cakes Salmorejo (Tomato Soup) Herb and Garlic Broth Spanish Chickpea Balls Paella Tortilla de Patatas

Pisto Manchego Empanadas
Pisto in Authentic La Mancha Style from Suite101.com
Dough by Megabeth

Pisto Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons Quality Spanish Olive Oil
• 1 Large Yellow Onion, diced
• 2 Eggplants, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 Large Zucchinis, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 Green Bell Peppers, seeded and diced
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 4 Large Ripe Tomatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 Teaspoons Red Wine Vinegar
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

Empanada Dough

• 3 cups flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup vegetable stock
• 1 egg

 

Directions for Pisto:

Heat the olive oil in a stew pot over medium heat. Saute the eggplant and onion together until the onion is translucent; about 5 minutes. Add zucchini, peppers, and garlic. Saute slowly until all ingredients have softened.

Add tomatoes; stir.

Cover and cook on medium for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Set heat on low and allow to simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding small amounts of water if necessary. The zucchini and eggplant should soften and break down and should form a lumpy mash. Add vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let mixture cool slightly before moving on to make empanadas.

To make the dough:

Put all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cut in the shortening with two knives.

Whisk egg and vegetable stock. Then add into the flour mixture. Knead until you get a dough. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Flour a flat surface and roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 4-inch circles using a glass or a biscuit cutter. Place 1 Tablespoon of the pisto into the center of the circle (make sure you drain off some of the liquid before putting it on the dough).

Fold dough into a 1/2 circle. Press the edges together with your finger, then finish using a fork.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan (about a 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) to about 350 degrees. Place empanadas into oil and fry on each side for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown.

Even though the Giro is over, I still have a few recipes left from Italy to feature. This Sicilian recipe, with Spanish origins, features eggplant which were first brought over to the island back to the ninth century.  It was introduced by people who lived in desert areas in and around the Roman province of Arabia. Culinary scholars believe that using the eggplant in this fashion most likely dates back to the 1700′s and might possibly have been invented by a Spaniard on a ship that used the vinegar as a preservative.

The sweet and vinegary dish is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled. I’m usually a little hesitant to add celery because it tends to draw attention away from the rest of the dish. But, in this case, the sweetness counterbalanced that overbearing celery taste.

Aubergine Caponata
via Discover Italian Food

Ingredients for 4:

• 1 eggplant/aubergines
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup of white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of sugar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• tender central sticks of a head of celery (about 3/4 cups once chopped)
• 2 Tablespoons of capers rinsed
• 5 Tablespoons of green olives, pitted oil, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley

Preparation:

Wash the aubergines and cut into small cubes. Sprinkle with salt, and leave to drain in a colander for 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Stir in the onion, and cook until soft. Stir in the garlic and tomatoes, and fry over moderate heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, sugar and pepper.

Simmer until the sauce reduces, 10 minutes more. Blanch the celery sticks in boiling water until tender. Drain, and chop into 2 cm pieces.

Add to the sauce with the capers and olives.

Pat the aubergine cubes dry with paper towels. Heat the oil to 185 °C, and deep-fry the aubergine in batches until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Add the aubergine to the sauce. Stir gently and season. Stir in the parsley.

Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Greatest Ever Indian: Easy and Delicious Step-by-step Recipes is nice cookbook to have around because of the plethora of pictures which include both cooking steps and finished dishes. Sometimes I have no idea what to cook, but if the picture of the finished dish makes me hungry, then I know that’s what I’m going to choose. Although this is an omnivore’s cookbook, many of the recipes are vegetarian so I’ve found it to be a handy go-to cookbook.

This cookbook does a decent job with descriptions and pictures of concepts that may be unknown in American cooking. It simplifies the recipes without losing any of the flavors and it also gives a pretty good introduction to the concepts of Indian cooking (albeit a bit Westernized.)

I couldn’t decide which recipe to try, so I went ahead and chose three out of this cookbook. They will be featured in upcoming posts. But first, I’ll start with the Eggplant Curry.

I don’t know about you, but I have a little difficulty finding dried tamarind. (I looked…I swear!) So, I ended up using some tamarind sauce purchased from an Indian store. I used about 2 Tablespoons of it because really like it’s taste – a sort of vinegary, salty and bitter flavor. Using the sauce also eliminated the first few steps of soaking the tamarind.) To cut down on some of the fat, I used a low fat coconut milk.

Because this dish cooks through simmering, it’s very easy to make. The fresh curry leaves add a brightness to the dish. Curry powder can also be substituted. Saute the spices, throw in the sliced eggplant and coconut milk and you’re good to go. (Oh, and the leftovers are super good!)

Eggplant Curry
Greatest Ever Indian: Easy and Delicious Step-by-step Recipes

1 1/4 oz/40 g dried tamarind, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup boiling water
2 large eggplants, sliced
salt
2 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
3 onions, slices
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon ginger paste
4 curry leaves
1 fresh green chili, seeded and finely chopped
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tablespoon coriander
2 Tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
2 tablespoons tomato paste
generous 2 cups canned coconut milk
3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus extra to garnish (Note: I used chopped fresh parsley.)

(Note: If using tamarind sauce, skip these first steps and head straight to prepping the eggplant.)

Place the dried tamarind in a bowl. the add the boiling water and stir. let soak for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the eggplant slices in a colander, sprinkling each layer with salt. Let drain for 30 minutes. Cook’s tip: Most contemporary varieties of eggplant no longer need salting to remove the bitter juices. However, doing so stops the vegetable from becoming too soggy.)

(Skip this step if using tamarind sauce.) Strain the tamarind into a bowl, pressing down on the pulp with the back of a wooden spoon.

Discard the contents of the strainer. Rinse the eggplant slices under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.

Heat the ghee in a large pan. Add the onions and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until golden. Stir in the garlic paste and ginger paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Add the curry leaves, green and red chilies, ground coriander, cumin and mustard seeds, and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until the spices give off their aroma.

Add the tamarind liquid and coconut milk and bring to a boil.

Add the eggplant slices, then cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender.

Uncover the pan and simmer for an additional 5 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the chopped cilantro and sprinkle the extra chopped herb on top, then serve immediately.

Last year, at the DC Green Festival, I picked up Vegan Italiano – a cookbook featuring “meat-free, egg-free, dairy-free dishes from sun-drenched Italy.”

This cookbook proves that the vegan diet can indeed be adventurous and delicious.

Donna Klein begins Vegan Italiano with a quick overview of cooking in the various regions of Italy and then provides a little information about ingredients and how nutritional information was calculated. Then, it’s off to the races with 225 recipes including the whole gamut of soups, salads, pasta, rice/grains, vegetables, beans, pizza, breads, sandwiches and desserts.

There are no pictures in the book, but there are quick introductions to each recipe providing a serving suggestion, a hint or a menu idea. In paging through this cookbook, I noted how many of the vegetable dishes would be perfect on a Thanksgiving table – carrots with basil, butternut squash puree, green beans with wild mushroom and tomatoes. Many of these vegan recipes could be added to the table without the carnivore being any the wiser.

For the panini recipe, I used a whole wheat ciabatta bread and cooked everything under the broiler. Be aware when making the spinach-pesto sauce. I used three cloves of a very fresh organic garlic bulb and let’s just say that the In-house Taste Tester and I scared off all vampires in a 3-mile radius from our house after eating these sandwiches. So, if you want less pungent results perhaps cut down the amount of garlic and add more after you have a chance to taste test it.

These sandwiches were fresh and light on a summer’s evening and would be perfect to make when grilling because there really isn’t a lot of preparation involved. (You could make the pesto a day in advance.)

Panini with Grilled Eggplant, Roasted Peppers, and Spinach-Pesto Sauce
Vegan Italiano

1 large round eggplant (about 1 pound), cut into ½-inch-thick rounds
Table salt
1 medium green or red bell pepper (about 6 ounces, cut lengthwise into eights (Note: I used yellow pepper…I also considered using an orange pepper. The recipe is flexible.)
1 medium red onion (about 6 ounces), cut into ½-inch-thick rounds
2 ½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salte, preferably the coarse variety, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 large slices Italian bread (about 1 ¼ ounces each) (Note: I used whole wheat ciabatta.)

Spinach-Pesto Sauce (recipe below)

Sprinkle the eggplant slices with table salt and set in a colander in the sink to drain 30 minutes.

Prepare a medium-hot charcoal grill or gas grill, or preheat a broiler. Position the grill rack or over rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. If broiling, lightly oil a large baking sheet and set aside. Or, place a stovetop grilling pan with grids over medium-high heat.

Rinse the eggplant slices under cold-running water and drain well between paper towels.

Brush the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion on all sides with 2 tablespoons of the oil.

Grill or broil the vegetables until browned and tender, working in batches as necessary. As a general rule, cook the bell pepper 3 to 4 minutes per side, and the eggplant and onion 2 to 3 minutes per side. Place the vegetables on a large baking sheet with sides as they finish cooking.

When all the vegetables are done, drizzle with the remaining ½ tablespoon oil and balsamic vinegar, and the sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss gently with a large spatula to combine. Cover with foil and keep warm while grilling bread.

Grill or broil the bread on both sides until nicely toasted. Divide the vegetables evenly among 4 slices of the bread. Spoon equal portions of the Spinach Pesto Sauce (recipe below) over the vegetables. Top each with a slice of toasted bread and serve at once.

Spinach-Pesto Sauce
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed baby spinach leaves
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon coarse salt, or more to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the basil, spinach, garlic, and salt in a food processor fitted with the knife blade, or in a blender.

Process until finely chopped. Add the oil and process until smooth. If not using immediately, store tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 2 days.

Note from cookbook: This tasty pesto is also wonderful tossed with pasta, gnocchi, boiled potatoes, or steamed vegetables.

Spinach Pesto Nutrition Information
Per serving (about 4 teaspoons)
Calories 76
Protein 2g
Total Fat 7g
Sat. Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
Carbohydrate 3g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sodium 130mg

Sandwich Nutrition Information
Calories 393
Protein 9 g
Total Fat 18g
Sat Fat 3g
Cholesterol 0mg
Carbohydrate 50g
Dietary Fiber 8g
Sodium 549g