Thursday, March 19, 2009

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Empanadas

By KC Kudra

Empanada is a word, which means "wrapped in bread" in Spanish and these delicious little pastries are made by wrapping a round dough pastry in half over a filling to make a semicircle. Empanadas make tasty snacks at any time of the day and are popular throughout Latin America as well as in Spain.

Empanadas through History

Mexican empanadas are thought to derive from Galicia in Spain and they arrived in Latin America when the Galician colonists did. A Galician empanada is a large round or square pie, which is served in slices, making it a hearty and portable lunch for workers. Variations of this kind of portable snack include Italian calzone, Indian samosas, and Cornish pasties. Actually most cultures have a kind of "pocket" or meat pie type dish because they are handy to carry around.

Galician empanadas are often made with chicken, pork loin, or cod. Empanadas are considered a national dish in both Uruguay and Argentina and Galician empanadas are very popular in Latin America because of the high number of Galician immigrants who have made Latin America their home.

Empanadas, which are also known by a variety of regional names, can be stuffed with many different meat, fish, vegetable, or sweet combinations but mincemeat sauted with seasonings is an especially popular filling. These pastries are usually baked, shallow fried or deep-fried and they can be a Mexican typical meal. The fried kind are supposed to be eaten hot and the baked ones can be eaten either fresh from the oven, reheated or cold.

These pastries are made all over Latin America and the empanada crust is normally made from wheat flour, water, salt, and a fat like shortening, butter or lard. The crust might be plain or seasoned.

Types of Mexican Empanadas

Mexicans enjoy empanadas for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, as an appetizer, snack, or dessert. What a versatile treat they are!

Mexican fillings can include guava, pumpkin, cream, sweet potato, yam, fruit, cheese, seafood, meat, and chicken. The dough is either wheat or corn based depending on the Mexican region. In Chiapas, chicken or cheese empanadas are popular. In the Hidalgo region, empanadas are particularly famous.

These wonderful little snacks cannot be overlooked if you are interested in Mexican food culture and you will find them simple to make if you want to create your own. Empanadas are delicious served hot and the whole family is sure to enjoy whichever variety you make. You can buy frozen readymade empanadas from the store but they are not a patch on homemade ones and no self-respecting Mexican would use thawed readymade pasties to their family!

Empanadas make great appetizers or sandwich replacements in a packed lunch. If you already know about the history of enchiladas and other well known Mexican foods, you might like to try your hand at making empanadas now that you know about their fascinating history and brilliant versatility.

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