The Golden Empanada

Every year in September, the town of Famaillá in the Tucumán region of Argentina hosts the Fiesta Nacional de la Empanada, or the National Empanada Festival. It's a very big event, and contestants enter their handmade empanadas, hoping theirs will be chosen for the title of "Empanada de Oro", or the golden empanada. Empanadas from this region (empanadas tucumanas) are made from either chicken, beef, or tripe(!), and they have a thin crispy crust. The are famous for their flavor and juicy, tender meat filling. For the beef empanadas, the meat must be hand cut into very small pieces, partially cooked, and left to rest in its own juices before baking. The filling is made with white and green onions, hard boiled eggs, cumin, paprika and chile pepper, and sometimes includes raisins or olives.

The word empanada comes from the spanish verb empanar, which means to wrap something with bread. The decorative folds along the edge of the empanada are called repulgues, and are very fun to make. I found this fun video on Argentinian food blog (From Argentina with Love) that shows how to shape them. The writer's Argentinian friend cheers her on in Spanish as she shapes the empanada, saying encouraging things like "¡perfecto!" and "¡eso!" (that's the way!).

Try this recipe for traditional empanadas from Tucuamán and award yourself the golden empanada prize.

More Empanada Recipes and Links:

• Empanadas Tucamanas
• In Search of the Perfect Empanada
  
• How to Make Empanadas
  
• Ham and Cheese Empanadas