Lent-friendly recipes: Lentil Empanadas 

Editor’s note: Every week during Lent, Jersey Catholic will feature a recipe perfect for Meatless Fridays submitted by Archdiocesan staff. This week’s recipe is submitted by Elana Torres, part of the Communications Team. 

Vegetarian Picadillo filling: 
1 tsp olive oil 

1 yellow onion, diced 

1 red bell pepper, diced 

⅓ cup sofrito 

1 lb cooked chickpeas or cooked brown lentils (smashed slightly) 

1 tsp sazon seasoning 

1 tsp adobo seasoning 

1 (15oz) can of tomato sauce 

¼ cup water if needed 

Dough: 

GOYA(TM) Frozen Tapas Para Empanadas -Baking/Para horno 

Filling: 
Heat olive oil and sauté onions, and peppers in a pan over medium heat. Once onions and peppers soften, add sofrito and sauté another 2 minutes before adding chickpeas or lentils. Add sazon, adobo, tomato sauce, and water if needed. Bring it to a boil before simmering with a lid partially on, for 5-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. 

While your filling cools (filling should be room temperature) set out the empanada dough to thaw.  

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. 

Assembly of empanadas: 
Spoon picadillo over half of each disc, fold the empty dough over top and pinch together with a fork. 

Transfer the filled empanadas to a parchment-lined baking sheet and pierce the top to allow steam to escape. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown (you may need to rotate your baking sheet for even browning). 

Allow to cool before eating- buen provecho!