In times like these, of utter pandemic scaries, we do. not. waste. food. 

To clean out my freezer in hopes of making space for empanadas, I made this Mindy Fox’s mouthwatering Peruvian-inspired chicken with a tangy green sauce that I had bookmarked many moons ago with a chicken I had stashed (read: buried) away. To add to this dinner, I made up a pan of refried black beans with a little bit of bacon, onion, garlic, cumin and chili. Dinner was lovely and we had a ton of leftovers, as it’s just the two of us.

The next day, social isolation boredom set in hard. The news was tough and seemingly inescapable. I was (and still am, TBH) fidgety and itching to create but bogged down with weariness of an endless COVID-19 news and meme cycle. I had facetimed my brother to, whose company is currently working to develop a plasma-based COVID-19 vaccine, and his family for a fun chat and good giggle—my niece is almost 3 and had been playing bare-bottomed in her kiddie pool and was silly enough to show me her biscuit booty. It was a good laugh and a reminder that it’s ok to be carefree and enjoy the sunshine. In my case, the sunshine came in the form of an empanada. 

Back to the kitchen I went, determined to make a solid gluten-free empanada dough that didn’t break and baked well since I don’t have enough oil to fry masa-based dough. After playing around with this trusty King Arthur Pie Crust I finally figured out how to adapt it to have less ingredients to suit what was in my pantry and still be malleable enough to crimp (be sure you’re using the measure-for-measure flour). The delicious solution was simple, add more butter and let the dough warm up a lot (you can be pretty slow with these unlike with standard pie crust).

To this ultra-buttery dough, I added a generous swipe of refried black beans and the leftover Peruvian chicken on top. I sprinkled some cheese in half of them for my husband and left mine cheese-free. Then the real test came, closing and crimping. I found that my first few were a little crumbly, but as I worked the dough longer, it became more malleable, which allowed for a perfect rope crimp. It worked! Once I made a whole tray, I popped the empanadas into the fridge for 15 minutes to cool the butter back down and solidify the crimp. I baked some for dinner and slathered them with my leftover tangy green sauce and then sprinkled pickled red onion for acid and crunch. A perfect combo!

With a freezer full of empanadas and feel kind of ok with this stay-at-home order.

Chicken & Black Bean Gluten-Free Empanadas

Filling Ingredients

• Leftover roasted chicken, shredded

• Refried black beans

• Shredded Cheese

• 1 egg

• 1 small red onion

• 2 cups boiling water

• Juice from 2-3 limes

• Tangy green sauce by Mindy Fox

Dough Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups King Arthur gluten-free all purpose flour (measure-for-measure)

• 2 TBSP sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 sticks cold butter, cubed

• 2 large eggs

• 4 teaspoons vinegar

• ¼-⅓ cup ice cold water

Gluten-Free Empanada Directions

Whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Cut in cubed butter until the dough is crumbly and shaggy. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and vinegar. Add to dry ingredients and knead until incorporated. Drizzle in ice water and knead until mixture holds together. 

Chill dough for 1 hour. 

Preheat oven to 400F.

Prepare your fillings. Tip: don’t heat up too much or it will melt your dough.

To prepare your pickled onions, dice red onion and place in a shallow bowl. Pour boiling water over the top for no more than 5 minutes. Drain. Squeeze lime juice over the onion, cover and refrigerate. 

Remove dough and let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. While it warms, prepare your egg wash.

Sprinkle gluten-free flour on your countertop and roll out dough to about ⅛ inch (you will need more flour than you think!). Use a bowl about 5-6 inches in diameter to cut out circles. 

Swipe a spoonful of beans on the bottom of the dough. Layer chicken and cheese on top. Brush the edges of dough with egg wash. Fold and pinch to seal. Use a crimp technique or fork to ensure sealed edges.

Once all empanadas are made, chill for 15 minutes in the fridge. 

Before baking, coat with egg wash and poke holes to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy with tangy green sauce and pickled onions.