Empanada
Empanada
Two empanadas
Origin
Alternate name(s)
delicioco
Country of origin
Spain
Dish details
Course served
Appetiser
Serving temperature
Hot or Cold
Main ingredient(s)
Pastry
Cod
Chicken
Variations
Pastie
Other information
Popular throughout:
Spain
Portugal
Latin America
North America
The Philippines
A gourmet version of a traditional dish
An empanada (not to be confused with
the Portuguese empada) is a stuffed bread
or pastry. The name comes from the Spanish
verb empanar, meaning to wrap or coat in
bread. Empanada is made by folding a dough
or bread patty around the stuffing. In Spain,
empanadas are usually large and circular in
size and are cut into smaller portions for con-
sumption, whereas in South America em-
panadas are normally small and semi-
circular. Empanadas are also known by a
wide variety of regional names (see the
entries for the individual countries below).
Empanada may have its origin in the fatay-
er or "moajanat", an Arab dish which was in-
troduced in Spain during the Arabic occupa-
tion of the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain the
dish is known as Galician empanada or
simply empanada. It is likely that empanadas
in the Americas have their origins in Galicia,
Spain, where an empanada is prepared simil-
ar to a large pie which is cut in pieces, mak-
ing it a portable and hearty meal for working
people. The filling of Galician empanada usu-
ally includes either tuna, sardines or chouri-
zo, but can instead contain cod fish or pork
loin. The meat or fish is commonly in a to-
mato, garlic and onion sauce inside the bread
or pastry casing. Due to the large number of
Galician immigrants in Latin America, the
empanada gallega has also become popular
in that region. The dish was carried to South
America by colonists, where they remain very
popular to this day. Empanadas in South
America have various fillings, detailed below.
Varieties by country
Argentina
Argentine empanadas are often served at
parties as a starter or main course, or in fest-
ivals. Shops specialize in freshly-made em-
panadas,