The word “empanada” is derived from the Spanish verb “empanar”, which means “to bread” or “to cover with bread”.
It is a type of cake that is generally made with a flour-based dough that is filled with a variety of different ingredients such as meat, cheese, or vegetables.
Actually, the country where you eat an empanada does not matter, since you will surely enjoy it a lot. Today, empanadas can be found in many countries.
For example, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. There is no single version of empanada since each country prepares them, fills them and/or adds different sauces.
Many would like to know where they can find the best empanada, but it really depends on what you want in an empanada.
For example, you might like Argentinian empanadas that are a bit more traditional, that are baked or fried, but that can also be grilled or on the contrary, you might feel more attracted to a Chilean empanada that has varied flavors and tends to be a tad more innovative, which is prepared with minced meat and seasoned onion, and it’s covered with hard-boiled eggs, olives and raisins.
There is also the Colombian empanada which is made with a crispy cornmeal dough that is filled with a creamy and aromatic filling of beef and potato, as well as flavorful Latino seasonings. Colombian empanadas are typically delicious and unique, but few people know their history. They say that the empanadas were traditionally made by a woman who tried to feed her husband while he was on military leave. She used ground corn for the dough and baked it to make this dish which impressed other military personnel with which it gained quite a bit of popularity.
Street food, commonly known as “antojitos” in Mexico, is very popular and for good reason. It’s usually cheap, fast, and delicious! One of the most popular snacks are empanadas. You can find them all over Mexico and there are many varieties and ways to prepare them which are made with corn dough and fried to perfection.
In Peru, traditional empanadas are filled with fried ground beef, onion, olives, hard-boiled egg, and raisins. After baking or frying, the empanadas are dusted with icing sugar and, before biting into them, with a splash of lime juice.
In recent years, empanadas with various other fillings such as chicken, ham and cheese or just cheese, Lomo Saltado or Aji de Gallina have also become very popular in Peru.
While there are several different types of empanadas made in Chile, the empanadas de pino, filled with ground beef, onion, raisins, black olives, and hard-boiled eggs, are the most popular.
The filling may seem a bit strange to some, but you see this combination often in South American cuisine (for example, this Venezuelan bread and these Colombian stuffed potato balls).
You’ll also find this filling in pastel de choclo, a Chilean meat and corn pie that is similar in concept to Irish shepherd’s pie. The raisins add a slight sweetness to the meat that perfectly complements the smoky (and sometimes spicy) filling.
The olives give it a fun salty touch and the hard-boiled eggs add a fun creamy element. If you like, you can serve them with pebre, a Chilean sauce for a bright, fresh contrast. There is definitely a reason why empanadas de pino are one of the most popular types of empanadas in Chile.
