There is no bad time to eat an Argentine empanada
Hotdogs, dips, tacos, and even the eternal hamburgers long ago ceased to be the finger food trend And they started to get repetitive.
Why, though, are we suddenly passionate about Argentine empanadas and, without realizing it, they have been winning our hearts to become the favorite culinary sin?
Today is his day and, therefore, we want to pay a small tribute to this creole snack and dive inside to answer this question.
Snack or dinner, you choose.
FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN TO THE PAMPA
The origin of the empanada is not new. It probably dates back to several centuries before Christ in the ancient Mesopotamia . The Greeks ate them frequently. , basically for the same reasons we do it now: they are delicious, they keep well, they are easy to transport and very versatile, a very high quality in these days that we live. That is also why in many places they continue to eat them in different formats.
The empanada (or whatever it was called back then) came to America from the hands of the conquerors and, once there, it began to adapt to new ingredients and forms of elaboration until create a new product with its own personality.
The Argentines, as they had already done with tango and football, became masters (also in selling them), and they made their empanadas famous and desired.
Box of empanadas: autumn survival kit.
Until recently, buying them in Spain was not easy, but in recent months they are living their great moment , after its success during confinement and largely thanks to whoever supplied them to us: Malvon , a company founded in 2017 in Madrid and which is already " the Argentine empanadas franchise leader in sales and number of stores in Europe ", as Claudia Briandi, its chef and creative director, explains.
OF MEAT, YES, BUT NOT ONLY
Although there is not one, but a thousand varieties, if we talk about the typical argentinian empanada we refer to the one made with a flour-based dough. The best known abroad are those stuffed with meat (in any of its variants) "but there is a whole classic repertoire that also includes chicken , that of Ham and cheese , that of ham and onion , that of spinach and of humita (sweet corn with white sauce), which are cooked oven (Skip style) or fries (Tucumán style)", and that have been present in the daily lives of Argentines for decades, explains Briandi.
A two-tone classic: ham and cheese.
the meat ones They are prepared throughout the country, but that does not mean that they are the same in La Rioja as in Patagonia or in Córdoba as in Buenos Aires. The type of meat varies (different parts of the veal, goat, lamb...) and how it is cut (machine or knife), the type of cooking varies (clay oven or frying pan), the size varies and the ingredients also vary. and the seasonings (from the egg to the pears to the wine and from the paprika to the icing sugar). Namely, almost everything varies.
The Tucuman , for example, is made with knife-cut beef steak, onion, sautéed garlic, cumin, pepper and paprika, and is cooked in clay oven ; while the salteña it is filled with a stew of meat cut with a knife, cooked in beef fat with onion, bell pepper, ground chili, hard-boiled egg, boiled potato and the green part of the spring onion and is also made in the same oven. The Catamarcan (from northwestern Argentina, already bordering Chile) is made with goat meat. The patagonic , with that of its famous lambs, seasoned with onion, smoked hot pepper and leeks, and can also be fried.
Malvon empanadas
In The Rioja it's used rump meat , mixed with olives, potatoes, bell pepper, hard-boiled egg and raisins, and in Cordova the filling is minced meat and may include powdered sugar and carrots or pears boiled with red wine and cloves.
And in Buenos Aires ? As a capital, its recipe is an amalgamation of all the versions, generally with machine minced beef, seasoned with green onion, bay leaf, chopped bell pepper, hard-boiled egg and olive that can be cooked, indistinctly, in the pan or in the oven. Also, like a good porteña, they are more "enlarged" than the rest. Sorry, bigger.
The meat ones, the usual ones.
WHEN 13 IS THE NUMBER
One of the signs at first sight of the mastery in the bite that concerns us is the repulse , "the science" of making the folds with which a pie is closed. The theme is not a trivial matter, not only the aesthetics of each one of the pieces depends on it, but also the juiciness of its filling. According to the chef, "Each empanada must have between 13 and 15 folds so that they have the right size, neither too small nor too large, although the ideal number is 13 ". There is no superstition here.
malvon empanadas
IT'S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME TO HIT IT
its great versatility It is one of the great strengths of Argentine empanadas, since they can be served at any of the meals, from breakfast to dinner, and eaten as a snack or main meal. As we have already said, they hold up well over time, they are good at room temperature or hot, and keep their properties intact for more than 48 hours . They can also be eaten anywhere or taken for picnics or snacks.
So many virtues made during confinement their cry will accelerate and start attracting new consumers. "Not only in Spain, but throughout the world: the trend in fast food has been evolving for some time towards a consumer who is aware of a healthier lifestyle, more concerned with knowing the origin of what they eat and knowing how it is processed", Briandi explains.
In his letter there is a bit of everything, 18 flavors , both traditional recipes for Creole empanadas and new proposals, all made daily with natural products and in an artisanal way. Among the first, those of meat (mild and spicy), those of Ham and cheese, tuna Y little pig (slow cooked pork with achiote chili); in the second roquefort and pear wave caprese (mozzarella cheese, tomato and basil). They can be ordered individually or in personalized packs of 2, 6 or 12 units.
If we have to live a semi-confined winter, let it be with Argentine empanadas at home.