The Role of Empanadas in Mexican Food Culture
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.
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.
Cod, pork loin, or chicken make popular Galician empanada fillings, and these are enjoyed all over Latin America because there are lots of Galician immigrants in the region. Both Uruguay and Argentina consider empanadas to be one of their national dishes.
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.
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.
Different Kinds of Mexican Empanadas
Mexican empanadas can be enjoyed as appetizers, snacks, breakfast, lunch, and supper or as a dessert, making them incredibly versatile.
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.
If you are interested in Mexican food culture, these delicious pastry snacks cannot be overlooked and if you want to make your own Mexican dishes, you will find them fun and rewarding to create. Empanadas are especially good eaten hot from the oven and the whole family will love these tasty little Mexican treats. It is also possible, of course, to buy readymade frozen empanadas from the store but everyone knows the homemade ones are a hundred times better!
You can enjoy Mexican empanadas at any time of the day and they make a nice change from sandwiches in packed lunches. If you want to have a go at making the kinds of food Mexicans eat because you have enjoyed reading a history on Mexican food then you will definitely enjoy making these.
