A chicken patty and a soup was my lunch many times, many years ago when I was working in Portugal, before moving to England. ‘Empadas’ can be found in many cafes and snack-bars in Portugal and there’s a variety of flavours, but the most famous one is chicken. I used a meat substitute in my recipe because I really wanted to recreate not only the flavour but also the consistency. However, it could work with mushrooms too or shredded jackfruit for example (or even a combination). Don’t they just look yummy?
Time: 2h m
Type: snack / side / starter
Difficulty: 3 pans
Serves: 10 to 12 patties
What you need:
For the filling: 300g quorn vegan pieces (or 300g of finely chopped closed cup mushrooms or 300g soya mince or 300g shredded jackfruit), 1/2 leek finely sliced, 1 bay leaf, 3 chopped garlic cloves, 1/2 white onion, chopped, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 2 tbsp flour, 1/2 lemon juiced, 1 tbsp chopped coriander, vegetable stock, pepper and salt to taste.
Note: Linda McCartney have a version of shredded ‘chicken’ that could be used on this recipe too. If that’s not available where you live, I am sure there will be some other brand of vegan shredded ‘chicken’ or ‘chicken’ stripes.
For the pastry: 350g flour (white or wholewheat), 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp olive oil, 120ml cooking water
olive oil and turmeric to glaze
Utensils:
knife and chopping board
1 pan
sieve
1 frying pan
2 bowls
mixing spoons
rolling pin
12 cup muffin baking tray
pastry brush
Directions:
Filling: If using frozen quorn, thaw the pieces for about 1h; then, break into smaller pieces, add to a pan, with leek, bay leaf and vegetable stock (I used half of a good quality cube) and fill with water so all is covered; let it simmer for about 30 minutes over low heat;
Once cooked, remove and save the cooking liquid using a sieve and a bowl;
In a frying pan, heat olive oil, add chopped onions and garlic cloves and fry for 3 minutes;
Add quorn pieces (and leek) to the frying pan, mix and cook for 3 minutes; add flour and mix well; mix in about 80ml of the cooking liquid, juice of 1/2 a lemon, nutmeg, coriander and pepper (and salt if using) to taste;
Note: when I use vegetable stock I tend to not add more salt as it has enough as it is, to my taste, but you can add more salt if you wish.
Mix until well combined (it should become a creamy paste, not dry);
For the pastry: in a bowl, place flour and salt; add olive oil and about 100ml of the cooking liquid; combine and knead for a few minutes until all is well combined and not sticking to the bowl (add more flour/ liquid if needed);
Flour a working surface and start rolling and stretching pastry into a large sheet;
With a glass, cut round pieces of pastry and place in the muffin cups, adjusting the pastry to cover the cup sides; add about a tbsp of the filling and cover with another round piece (use your fingers to attach both parts); repeat till all pastry is used;
Glaze the pastries with a little mix of olive oil with a sprinkle of turmeric and bake for about 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius;
They’re lovely hot or at room temperature, as a snack or as part of a main meal.
Plant Based Portuguese 