Cheesy 'Chorizo' Empanadas

A flavour packed snack wrapped in crisp paratha as a quick and easy hack!

Done in 30 minutes

Serves 5

Dish by Mia Jacobs

Ingredients

For the filling

1 tbspolive oil

8plant based sausages, casing removed

1white onion, diced

1garlic clove

1green bell pepper, diced

2.5 tspsmoked paprika

1 tspgarlic granules

1 tsppaprika

1 tspdried oregano

1/2 tspground cumin

1/2 tspchilli powder

1 tbspsoy sauce

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tspmaple syrup

to tastesalt and freshly cracked pepper

1-2 tbspvegan cheddar, grated

To assemble

4-6frozen paratha

700mlvegetable oil

To serve

125gvegan yoghurt

1/2avocado

1-2pickled chillies (optional)

20gfresh coriander

1/2lime, juice

to tastesalt

If you're not already stashing stacks of paratha in your freezer, what are you waiting for?? Frozen paratha are a great, versatile ingredient to use when you haven't got pastry lying around. This filling is packed with flavour too. Utterly moorish, spiced, cheesy and addictive. Please go and make these!

Method

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat with a generous glug of olive oil. Once you've removed the casing, break the sausages into little pieces and drop into the pan. Fry for 3-4 minutes until browned and starting to crisp. Remove and set to one side.

Add the diced onion and pepper into the same pan with a splash more oil if needed. Fry for around 5 minutes until they've softened adding in the garlic half way through. Add the sausages back in at the end and stir everything together.

Add all the spices into the pan with sausage mixture and fry gently to release all the aromas. Once the mixture has fried for a minute or so, add in the soy sauce, vinegar and maple syrup. Stir to combine then add in the cheese, stir again and set to one side to cool slightly.

Remove the paratha from the freezer and one by one, let them thaw for a minute or so.

Once half thawed, place a few spoonfuls of the mixture (depending on the size of the paratha) onto the paratha, just off centre. Fold the side closest to you over the top then crimp the edges to seal the empanada shut, making sure to seal the mixture in tightly so you don't get any air bubbles.

Repeat until you've used up all the mixture, placing each empanada into the freezer to set once it's finished.

Whilst they set, blend together all the ingredients for the dipping sauce until completely smooth. Set to one side.

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan (the pan shouldn't be filled over 2/3s of the way) or preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Once the oil is hot, carefully place 1-2 empanadas in and fry over a medium low heat for 4-6 minutes, until golden, crisp and hot through.

If baking is preferred, brush with oil then bake at 200 degrees for around 15 minutes, or until golden, crisp and hot through.

Serve immediately (or keep in the fridge for a few days) and enjoy!

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Mia Jacobs

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Mia is a self-taught cook with an obsession with street food and an absolute hatred for parsnips. Before joining Twisted Green, Mia founded an online vegan cooking school in the midst of the global pandemic and began teaching people all over the world how to cook incredible vegan food from the comfort of their own homes. Her mission was, and still is, to help transform kitchens everywhere from a daunting space to one that’s filled with the irresistible aroma of frying garlic, and some very special plant-based grub. She also believes that crisps and hummus are a gift to humanity.