Recipe Redux: Sweet Potato and Black Bean Empanadas

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As a nutrition blogger, I’m always trying to spread my message that “healthy food should be tasty food”. I recently happened upon an awesome site called Recipe ReDux that echoes this sentiment. Recipe ReDux was created by Registered Dietitians to challenge food bloggers to reinvent recipes in a healthier way without sacrificing taste. Reproducing delicious food in a nutritious way is what I do as a nutrition blogger (see my veggie meatballs or apple s’mores), so I’m VERY excited to post my first Recipe ReDux.

As a member of Recipe ReDux, I am given a monthly challenge and required to post my result on the 21^st of every month. This month’s challenge celebrates 42 months of Recipe ReDux by asking members to recreate a recipe on page 42 or 142 of a cookbook. I had this old Appetizers cookbook that featured sausage empanadas on page 142.

This recipe called for fatty sausage and a store bought pie crust, which usually contains sugar, salt, and preservatives. I decided to make my own crust with simple ingredients and fill the empanada with healthy veggies and low-fat protein (beans). I’ve never made empanadas before and it was definitely a time-consuming project, but the end product was worth all the effort!

Makes 8 empanadas

Ingredients:

1.5 cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup Canola or vegetable oil

4 tablespoon water

1 large sweet potato, chopped into 2 inch cubes

juice of 1 lime

3 tablespoons Canola or vegetable oil

1 jalapeño, diced

1 white onion, chopped small

1 tomato, quartered

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

½ teaspoon chili powder

¼ teaspoon salt

flour for coating surface

1 egg white

1 teaspoon water

¼ cup Mexican cheese (cheddar or monterey jack)

cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor, combine flour, ½ teaspoon of salt, and baking powder. Pulse to mix dry ingredients. While food processor is on, add ¼ cup oil and water through opening. Flour mixture will become crumbly. Remove mixture from food processor and knead on floured surface. Once the dough reaches a disc shape (pictured below), wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes- 1 hour.
Place sweet potato pieces in large bowl and coat with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and the juice of 1 lime. Stir until evenly coated. Place the sweet potato on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn sweet potatoes and bake for another 8-10 minutes. Sweet potatoes will be soft when ready.
In the meantime, combine ½ jalapeno, ½ onion, and 1 tomato in the food processor. Process until a liquid forms. Set aside
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, put 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and heat for 2 minutes. Once pan and oil are hot, add ½ the chopped jalapeno and ½ the chopped onion to pan. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Next, add black beans and chili powder and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the liquid from the food processor to the bean mixture and cook for 3-5 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add cooked sweet potatoes to mixture. Season with salt and stir. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare the dough.
Take dough out of fridge and cut it into 8 equal parts. Make egg wash by combining egg white and 1 teaspoon of water and stirring. On a floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough until it’s about ¼ inch thick. Place sweet potato and bean mixture on ½ the dough and sprinkle cheese on top. Brush egg mixture along the edges and seal the dough in a pocket shape. Repeat for each empanada.
Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Place empanadas on baking sheet and coat each with the egg wash. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with salsa, Greek yogurt, or avocado!

Nutrition notes:

One large sweet potato has 160 calories and 25% the daily serving of fiber. Fiber helps provide a feeling of fullness!
Sweet potatoes have a long shelf life and are grown in the winter. They will be inexpensive this time of year, so stock up.
Have bad eyes? Sweet potatoes are high in beta-carotene and Vitamin A. Each large sweet potato has over 600% the daily value of Vitamin A, which is great for eyesight!