Into a food processor place the mushrooms and process until finely ground.
To a large sauce pan, heat olive oil on medium heat and begin cooking down the ground mushrooms for 2-3 minutes.
Into the food processor add your walnuts and process till finely ground. Transfer walnuts to the saucepan with the mushrooms. Cook for around 6-8 minutes, stirring often to avoid burning. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the mixture has browned beautifully.
Into the same food processor add your onion and garlic. Process till finely ground.
To the mushrooms and walnut mixture, add the onions. Make a hole in the middle of the mixture to cook the onion down in and then stir after about 2-3 minutes of sauteing.
To the mixture, add your roasted red pepper, soy sauce, salt, pepper, onion powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, chili pepper, and tomato sauce.
Cover and simmer for around 15-20 minutes.
While the stuffing/filling cook, make your sauce. To a large, deep jug or jar, add all the ingredients for the Cilantro Lime Dressing and blend using a hand blender till combined. Alternatively, you can use a small blender. Place into the fridge until service.
Remove the filling/stuffing from the heat and set it aside to cool a bit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment and preheat your oven to 350F.
Grab your Empanada Skins or prepare your dough by cutting it into 4-inch circles. Scoop roughly 2 tbsp. of the filling into the center of each skin/dough circle, lightly wet all edges with water or oil and squeeze together. Place the pocket onto the parchment-lined sheet and use a fork to pinch and seal the sides together.
Lightly brush each pocket with oil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Watching them closely to avoid burning. You can broil for the last minute to get that perfect crust.
Serve with the yogurt sauce and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Storage: Place the pockets in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for up to one week. You can also, bake, seal and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can also premake, not bake and store in the freezer for up to two months. Cook them in a preheated 350F oven on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 1 hour or until golden. Make sure you flip and move to avoid burning.Pre-make: If you want to premake the recipe I suggest making the filling ahead of time.Servings: This recipe serves 3 as a main meal but around 5-6 as an appetizer. Truthfully, I suggest doubling this recipe. They’re that good.Oil: If you prefer to make this recipe oil-free, then simply use water or vegetable stock to cook/steam the ingredients like the onions/garlic and walnuts. I recommend 3-4 tbsp. water or stock to replace the 1 tbsp. olive oil.Seasonings/Spices: This recipe is quite versatile, so if you prefer or fancy other herbs/spices then we encourage you to have fun and play around with those ingredients.Gluten-Free: To make this recipe gluten-free, use the gluten-free dough.Dough: You can find traditional empanada skins at your local Mexican Market but you can also use pie dough or Puffed Pastry as a very untraditional dough. If you use puffed pastry, roll out to about 1/2 inch thick and cut into 4-inch circles.