Packed With Goodness - Empanadas It's No Donut

Empanadas are stuffed pastries and the name literally means, "wrapped in bread." An empanada is usually made by folding a round dough patty in half over the stuffing, making them semicircular. These tasty little snacks are incredibly popular and they make suitable fare for any meal or occasion.

A Look at Empanadas from Galicia to Latin America

The type of empanadas you might find as part of a Mexican typical meal are thought to come from Galicia in Spain. These snacks arrived in Latin America with the Galician colonists. An authentic Galician empanada is a large round or square pie, cut into slices. This makes it a hearty, filling and portable lunch for workers. Portable food variations include Cornish pasties, Indian samosas, Italian calzone, and turnovers of different types. A lot of cultures have their own version of "pocket" dishes or meat pies because they are both hearty and portable.

Chicken, cod or pork loin are popular fillings for Galician empanadas and these are very popular in Latin America because there are plenty of Galician colonists living there. Both Argentina and Uruguay consider empanadas to be a national dish.

Empanadas have many different regional names and they can be stuffed with a huge variety of meat, poultry, vegetable, cheese, fish, or sweet combinations. Ground beef sauted with various seasonings is a very popular stuffing. These delicious snacks are usually shallow fried, deep-fried, or baked and they are a popular Mexican typical meal. Fried empanadas are normally eaten hot. Baked ones can be eaten straight from the oven, cold or reheated.

You will find empanadas all over Latin America and the crust is usually made from water, salt, wheat flour and some kind of fat such as butter, lard or shortening. The crust can be seasoned or plain.

The Many Types of Mexican Empanadas

Mexicans like to eat their empanadas whenever they feel like it, making them great fare for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, appetizers, or desserts! These are certainly a versatile Mexican food.

Common Mexican empanada fillings include sweet potato, yam, guava, pumpkin, cream, meat, seafood, cheese, vegetables, or fruit. The dough is either wheat or corn based, depending on the area. The Mexican state of Hidalgo is famed for its empanadas. In the Chiapas region, cheese or chicken empanadas make a popular breakfast, snack, or supper.

These tasty pastry snacks are an integral part of Mexican food culture and if you like to make traditional Mexican food, you might like to make your own empanadas. They are especially wonderful eaten warm from the oven or from the frying pan. You can also buy frozen empanadas from the store but these are nowhere near as good as the freshly made variety!

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.

Mexican food is often overlooked, although this exciting culture does offer endless recipe possibilities, many of which you can find at MexicanFoodRecipes.org to recreate yourself. Thanks to a clever use of spices, along with the use of traditional Mexican ingredients, Mexican food recipes are both unique and satisfying. If you are looking for some great recipes or tips on cooking Mexican food and recipes of your own, the site will be very helpful. Whether you want a quick and spicy burrito, mild salad, or sweet and spicy salsa we have a wonderful selection of traditional Mexican recipes to choose from. If you are in the mood for Mexican food tonight why not give one of our recipes like our Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas with Dipping Sauces a try. Just one of the many delicious Mexican treats on our site. While there take some time to learn more about the extraordinary history, culture and cooking methods used to make this wonderful blend of old and new world cuisine. We also have a full Mexican Cooking Glossary complete with phonetic pronunciations for the none Spanish speaking Mexican food lover.