This recipe for Vegan Cabbage Chickpea Torta -- a golden, delicious hand pie -- is a bit of a cheat, but it's oh so good. A savory but nutritious filling of chickpeas, cabbage and onions is stuffed inside a flaky pie crust. A soy-free, nut-free, vegan recipe.
Come, gather all, because I have an exceptionally delicious recipe to share with you today. This gorgeous and rather rustic but tasty Vegan Cabbage Chickpea Torta.
These are hand pies that you can make as big or as small as you like. I often use this trick when feeding my son, Jay, who will eat anything so long as it's inside a flaky, tasty crust (like these yummy vegan empanadas with a black bean filling or these vegan puff pastry empanadas). Usually it's mushrooms or broccoli, veggies he still does not eat happily, but this time I used cabbage and onions and chickpeas.
If you have someone at home who doesn't like cabbage, this is the recipe to get them hooked on this lovely veggie. The cabbage cooks soft and silky and tastes amazing with the herbs. The chickpeas add texture and more deliciousness.
I usually make my own pie crust, but because I was making this on a weekday, so Jay could take the torta to a school picnic, I confess I used storebought pie crust. You can make your own, in which case you can also make it whole wheat, or you can use puff pastry. All of it works just fine. And here's a secret: although the crust may appear to be the star, it really only is camouflage for all that delicious goodness hiding inside.
My Spring garden is already gifting me with armfuls of sage, so I used some of this savory herb to add extra deliciousness to the filling. Use thyme or rosemary instead if you prefer, they would both work here.
More vegan recipes to try
- Curried Lentil Hand Pies
- Chickpea Mushroom Turnovers
- Pita Pockets with Broccoli and Tofu
- Vegan Cabbage Casserole
- Vegan Spinach Potato Casserole
Moving on a tangent, I picked up some potted herbs from the farmer's market and planted them over the weekend in the vegetable patch. The next morning everything was fine, except the thyme which has been dug out and reduced to half its size.
I planted it right back and the next morning it's out of the soil again, and halved again.
Squirrels? Birds? Who could be the culprit?
I finally moved the remaining herb to a pot and brought it indoors to keep on my window sill. I love sharing my backyard garden with all of you, wild guys, but honestly, can you just let me have some thyme?
On to the recipe for the Vegan Cabbage Chickpea Torta!
Vegan Cabbage Chickpea Torta
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts (use storebought-- try to find something that's not sweet, or make your own using the recipe in the notes below)
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed and minced)
- 1 small green or purple cabbage (finely shredded)
- 2 cups chickpeas (canned or cooked)
- 2 tbsp fresh sage (or any savory herb will do, like rosemary or thyme)
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until the onions caramelize.
- Add the cabbage along with salt, ground black pepper, and sage. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage wilts and is quite soft.
- Add the chickpeas and continue cooking another five minutes. Check seasoning and add more if needed. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- Keep the pie crusts refrigerated until ready to use. I roll them out a bit more to make them easy to shape into hand pies. Cut each pie crust into four pieces. If you want to make semicircular pies, you can use a pizza cutter to cut into rounds.
- Place about 3-4 tablespoon of filling in the center. Use a brush or your finger to moisten the edges of the pie dough and fold over, pressing the edges to seal. Use a fork to crimp the edges and hold the seal.
- Place the pies on a baking sheet (you can brush on some aquafaba -- chickpea brine -- on the tops for that gorgeous color) and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden.
- Cool for a few minutes on a rack, then serve.
Deborah
Another wonderful recipe! We are huge fans. Thank you so much.
Vaishali
So happy you liked the tortas! Thanks for letting me know.❤️
Nandini
Oh my! Looks so delicious. Can always count on you to serve up outstanding recipes....must try this.