These Roasted Poblano Cilantro Empanadas are full of roasted goodness!!! The poblano adds the yummiest roasted pepper flavor and the combination of poblano, cilantro and cheese is one of my all time favorites. The slaw becomes a beautiful bright pink and adds the much needed fresh crunchy quality to the mix. The beauty of empanadas is that they are easy to reheat, which makes them great for when you’re on the go. You can serve them as an entree or as an appetizer. Empanadas are from Argentina and the slaw is from El Salvador. I like to mix it up.
As you may know from reading my prior post, Robby and I have been on a mission to clear out the old and unused stuff from our house to remove the stagnant energy. One of the things that I have been contemplating is to sell the majority of my beads that I used in my jewelry line many years ago. I have been carrying these beads around with me from move to move. Just like my clothes, they are hard for me to part with because of that voice in my head that keeps telling me “but I might get back into jewelry making”. I first got into jewelry making when I was 16. My friend Maggie and I use to make earrings with vintage glass beads. Later, my friend Malina taught me some basic seed bead techniques that I continued to develop.
I loved seed beading so much that I brought them with me when my mom and I went traveling. You have to realize that I had a full-size backpacking pack and a small school size backpack. So, it was kiiinda crazy for me to be hauling these beads around with me. Well, one day we were in Nepal checking out Kathmandu’s outdoor markets to buy some jewelry, hand woven blankets and clothes and I had stopped to look at some really cool blankets when my mom called to me to come and see something. I remember getting annoyed saying just a minute I’m busy! (Brat!) She called me again and said you’re going to want to see this. She was standing in the space between two buildings that was just wide enough for us to squeeze through. When I stepped through, my jaw dropped to the ground in utter disbelief at what I was seeing.
There were walls and walls lined with hanging strands of seed beads. Every color and size you could imagine and they were cheap! I was in heaven! Needless to say, I bought a ton! I don’t think I’ll ever part with them unless it’s to someone/something special. I couldn’t figure out why there were so many so I asked one of the venders who told me that Napoli grooms give a necklace called “Pote” made up of multiple strands of seed beads with a golden hollow tube pendant called “tilahari” to their brides. I am now in the process of cutting up all my old silver jewelry I had many years ago. I will sort through those beads and sell the silver to a goldsmith who will melt it down. What’s cool about that is that I bought the silver for about $7 an ounce and now it’s worth at least $17 an ounce. I have a ton of beads to sort through and I will see what I end up doing with them.
I paired these empanadas with an Alberino, which was lovely. They would be perfect with a Mexican beer as well.
Roasted Poblano Cilantro Empanadas Recipe:
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/4 Cups Oat Flour + 1 tablespoon for rolling dough
- 1 1/4 Cups Chickpea Flour
- 1 Tablespoons Chia Seeds - ground into a powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1/2 Cup + 1 Tablespoon Warm Filtered Water + extra for sealing empanadas
- 1/2 Cup Butter - melted
Filling
- 2 Large Poblano Peppers about 1 1/2 cups - roasted - deseeded - destemmed - diced
- 1 Garlic Cloves - minced
- 1 1/2 Cups Jack Cheese - shredded
- 1 1/4 Cups Cilantro - roughly chopped
- 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt - or to taste
- 1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Curtido Style Slaw - best prepared at least 4 hours in advance or even better, the day ahead.
- 1 1/2 Cups Red Cabbage - thinly sliced
- 1 1/2 Cups Green or Savoy Cabbage - thinly sliced
- 1/2 Red Onion - thinly sliced
- 3 Cups Filtered Water - boiling
- 1 Carrot - about 1/2 cup - grated
- 1/2 Cup Radish - thinly sliced - cut into matchsticks
- 1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 - 2 Jalapeño or Serrano Peppers - minced
- 1 Garlic Clove - minced
- 3/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt - or to taste
- 1/8 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Garnish
- Curtido Slaw
- Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
Instructions
Curtido Style Slaw
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Place the cabbage, carrots, and onion into a large bowl.
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Pour the boiling water over, cover, then set aside for about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander, pressing out as much liquid as you can.
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Add the cabbage and carrots back to the bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
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Let set at room temperature for a couple hours. Then chill.
Dough
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Add the two flours, pepper and salt into a large bowl and mix together.
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Melt the butter and mix with water, add a little to chia seeds, whisk, then mix in the rest of the liquid.
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Stir in the flour.
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Mix until the dough forms a slightly sticky ball.
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It will firm up as it sits.
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Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper, form into a disk and wrap tightly then place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
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While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling.
Filling
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Dice the poblano peppers for filling.
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When cool, mix in the cheese, cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper.
Assemble
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Preheat the oven to 375°.
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Sprinkle a little flour onto a piece of parchment paper and roll out the dough fairly thin.
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Use a 5 inch round cookie cutter to make 8 circles.
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Or use a plate and cut with a knife around the plate.
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Once you have each circle of empanada dough cut out, fill them with 3 tablespoons of filling.
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Spread some water around the edges and fold over to seal.
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Use a fork to crimp the edges.
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Gently poke a fork on top to let steam escape.
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Place on a baking sheet and into the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
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It's ok if some cheese comes out while baking.
Health Benefits:
Poblano Peppers are extremely high in vitamin C; just one pepper has 95% of your daily value. They are great for your immune system and help to reduce inflammation like in arthritis and asthma. They are also helpful with the increase of oxygen helping the body to burn more calories 20 minutes after eating peppers. They are full of vitamin A, vitamin K and potassium.
Cilantro is an immune-booster that helps detoxify the body by loosening them from the tissue, binding to and pulling out toxins and heavy metals. It helps promote a healthy liver function and is an overall digestive aid. It is a powerful anti-inflammatory that may help symptoms of arthritis and joint pain. It also helps with insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar. It is rich in antioxidants, essential oils, vitamins (one of the richest herbal sources for vitamin K) and dietary fiber.
Cabbage is really low in calories, fat and high in fiber. It’s high in vitamin K that helps with brain function. Red cabbage is the highest in vitamin K than other cabbage. It’s high in sulfur keeping your hair, skin and nails healthy. If you have arthritis, rheumatism, skin diseases or gout, cabbage can help with its high vitamin C and sulphur content. Cabbage is higher in vitamin C than oranges and is a natural antioxidant that helps with premature aging and also helps detoxify the blood and liver. Cabbage helps protect bones from becoming brittle with its high potassium, magnesium, and calcium content. Potassium is also great for reducing high blood pressure allowing the blood vessels to open and the blood to flow freely. It is also high in beta-carotene needed for eye health. The pigment in purple cabbage helps lower blood sugar levels and boost insulin production. It helps your body fight off cancer with the powerful antioxidant anthocyanin. Cabbage is good for your heart, blood pressure, brain, nervous system, immune system, digestion, bowels, bones, eyes, skin, hair and nails.
