Banana-Black Bean Empañadas

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 firm medium-size banana, diced

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

1 cup (packed) coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 egg, beaten to blend (for glaze)

• Made these as part of a nibbles menu for New Year’s Eve, with some adjustment, and my husband and I both enjoyed them. Rather than the puff pastry, I used the empanada dough recipe from elsewhere on this site. Minced a large clove of garlic and sautéed it with the onion, doubled the cilantro, and added a splash of banana vinegar (ranchogordo.com) at the end. The only thing I’ll do differently next time is to use a ripe plantain rather than a banana.

• I have been looking vegetarian empanada options, and this one is a keeper. I cooked the filling exactly as the recipe described and it turned out great. The banana flavor is subtle but I think is what makes this dish special. Meat eaters loved it too. I used the epicurious recipe for empanada dough. Highly recommend.

• We love bananas (and platanos) and black beans and empanadas, but did not love these. My kids liked them (go figure!), but my husband and I did not. The banana was odd and puff pastry just doesn’t work for an empanada.

• I made this for a wine and appetizer fundraiser. We made 108!! they we a huge hit!! A favourite of the 5 countries that we did. We had our very own wine sommelier pair this with an Agentinian Malbec called Kaiken. Argentina makes 75% of the worlds Malbec. It is a great pairing. I read the comments here and decided to take the time to carmelize the bananas. it was the right thing to do. Guests commented on the balance it created. I also reduced the onions to 1/2 cup and added 2 cloves of garlic. The mixture seemed a bit dry in my test run so I added 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and finally I doubled the cilantro. I used the previous suggestion of sour cream and fresh lime juice and topped with lime shavings. Amazing!!

• I thought these were delicious. Added two cloves garlic. The seasonings were perfect, but we don’t like overly hot. Easy, fun food

• Happened to have a brand-new nonstick pan so I fried a diced green banana in that with just a wipe of oil. The final mix seemed to need more sweetness so I added a second banana – wouldn’t have objected to one more, but I think that was cause it wasn’t ripe. Guests loved them & they were even better reheated in the toaster oven a couple of days later. Thanks for the lime/sour cream dip suggestion, that made them perfect.

• Very easy and filling. Instead of the mini phyllo creations, I used 1 whole sheet and made a turn over. I doubled the cilantro and used a skim cheese (Jarlsberg) for a little spark, but only 1/2 the banana called for. Might use 3/4 next time but otherwise seemed too sweet. Like others, I didn’t bother frying bananas beforehand. Turned out great. FrancisHaydee is correct, the spelling is wrong, it’s spelled and pronounced ’empanada.’

• Made for a Latin themed birthday party. Love them!

• Wonderful recipe and
  pretty easy. I used
  yellow plantains
  instead of bananas,
  added lime juice and
  garlic cloves
  instead of onions.

• this seems like a delicious dish but please revise your title-correct Spanish spelling for your dish is “empanada”, not empañada, eliminate the “Ñ”. thanks.

• I made this for a potluck, and these
  were a hit. I bought some frozen
  empanada discs (small size) instead
  of the puff pastry, and was suprised
  at how easy it was to make this.
  The tops of the empanada crescents
  were brushed with egg wash to give
  it color. Also, I had to use
  shredded mozzarella at the time, but
  I didn’t think there was a
  difference. I had to make a second
  batch on the fly, and didn’t get to
  saute-ing the bananas, but don’t
  think there was much of a difference
  when I subbed with just plain mashed
  bananas. Definitely a fast and easy
  dish to make. Great for prepping
  ahead and popping in the oven as well

• I’ve made these many times and they’re a great addition to a cocktail party or dinner. I’ve made them different ways (being crunched for time) and don’t think the extra step of cooking the bananas separately is necessary. I add very hot jerk spice instead of the cayenne and add nutmeg, too, about 1/2 tsp. Lots of cilantro and a sour cream/lime dip, as someone else mentioned, make them super. Prepare for extra filling – I use it in place of refrieds in burritos. yum.

• Not my favorite of the night, but pretty popular amongst our guests. It is a bit bland. The addition of sour cream does improve things

• I’ve made these for
  a summer outdoor
  party and a winter
  holiday party and they’ve been a big hit. The bananas
  add such a wonderful
  element of surprise
  and complexity to
  this recipe. A
  little goes along
  way for the bananas,
  since they are
  essentially
  carmelized, making
  them sweeter than
  they would be when
  not sauteed. The
  spice is just enough
  to counter the
  sweetness. I’ve also
  tried serving with a
  salsa verde dip which is a
  nice fresh contrast
  to the richness of
  the recipe.

• This was a fantastic
  recipe! I added a
  chopped, un-seeded
  Jalapeno pepper to
  the filling and
  served with low-fat
  sour cream that had
  lime zest and lime
  juice
  added…fantastic!!!