Banana and Black Bean Empanadas

Ingredients

*Crust*

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

4 tablespoons cold margarine, cut into ½ inch cubes

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

*Filling*

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 cup cooked black beans

1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp)

2 bananas, peeled and diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon red pepper sauce

Preparation

To make crust: sift flours, salt and chili powder in bowl. Mix in margarine with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together applesauce, vinegar and 1/3 cup cold water in separate bowl. Stir applesauce mixture into flour mixture until textured dough forms, adding 1/4 cup more water, if necessary. Knead on a lightly-floured surface until dough comes together. Form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill 1 hour, or overnight.

To make filling, heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion 4-5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add beans and garlic, reduce heat to medium and cook 3 minutes. Stir in bananas, cumin, cayenne and coriander and cook 2 minutes or until bananas begin to break down and spices are fragrant. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and red pepper sauce.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Divide dough into 12 balls. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll out each ball to 6-inch round (1/4-inch thick) on lightly floured surface. Fill with 2 tbs filling and brush edges of pastry with water. Fold dough circle in half, press to close and crimp edges with fork to seal. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough balls and filling. Chill 10 minutes. Bake empanadas 20 minutes or until golden brown and crusty. Cool 5 minues on a baking sheet before serving.