Black Bean Pastries

Whenever I get the opportunity to see my Dad, I always like to make a special meal for him. A fitting meal of course requires some brainstorming. My inspiration this past visit was a new food event started by Dhivya dedicated to exploring and celebrating ethnic cuisines across the globe, with the additional laudable aim of expanding our culinary horizons. Her focus this month is Mexican. Always open to the prospect of experimenting with flavors, especially when heat is a central component, I decided upon a Mexican meal, which included these spicy Black Bean Pastries (pasties) that I only slightly adapted from my now cherished copy of World Vegetarian Classics.

This was also my first time making a pastry using warm water. Usually, the key to a perfect pastry is to use very cold ingredients, taking care to work quickly with the dough or to chill it before rolling. This would appear to be a variation of a hot water pastry that traditionally contains lard, typically used for savory pies. It turned out to be an ideal pastry to form over the black bean mixture. It held together nicely during the baking process, and the result was a golden brown crust. Celia Brooks Brown cautions us to resist the temptation to overfill the dough because the filling might seep out when baking. I mostly got it right, as only 2 of my pasties had a bit of black bean peaking out when removed from the oven. At least they didn't fall apart. These hand-held delights can also be served with some guacamole.

On the menu with Mushroom Quesadilla and Guacamole.

Black Bean Pastries (Empanadas con Frijoles Negros)

For the dough:

1 1/3 cups of unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 tablespoon of butter
1/3 - 1/2 warm water

For the filling:

3/4 cup cooked black beans (1/3 cup dried)
2 - 3 dried chipotle chillies
2 tablespoons of water
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup of finely grated mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten, for brushing pasties

To make the dough, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and cut into flour with a pastry cutter or fork until crumbly. Stir in the water to form a dough and knead a few times. Wrap in plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

To make the filling, soak the chipotle peppers in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain, and finely chop. In a bowl, mash together the black beans, chipotles, water, oregano, vinegar, mozzarella and salt.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 6 pieces and form into balls. On a lightly floured board, roll each of the balls into flat 4 1/2 inch circles. Place a rounded tablespoon of the filling into the middle of each circle of pastry, brush the edges with a bit of the beaten egg and pull the top and bottom edges up around the filling. Press the ends together to form a crescent shape. Place on the baking sheet, and brush with more of the beaten egg. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until golden brown - about 25 minutes.

Makes 6.