One of my best tips for cooking while traveling is to cook local foods. Not only does this let you participate in a country’s food culture without spending money on going out to eat all the time, but it also allows you the opportunity to cook new foods that you wouldn’t or couldn’t cook at home.
Looking super focused on making some empanadas!
I have no better example than making empanadas in Argentina. Pre-made empanada dough was as common in Argentina as pie crust is in the US. I would have never tried making empanada dough from scratch in the US and empanada dough is not very common in your run-of-the-mill Chicago grocery store (although to be honest, I don’t think I ever checked).
I stumbled on the empanada dough next to the fresh pastas in the refrigerator section, because I was originally planning to make a tortellini and roasted vegetable dish (my default when I have no better ideas). I immediately picked them up and told Kenny we were having empanadas more confidently that I expected considering I’d never mad an empanada and didn’t have wifi to look up a recipe.
They looked legit even before they were baked!
I think at the time I was mixing up empanadas with samosas and grabbed potatoes, peas and a curry rice spice packet to fill the empanadas with. My first attempt ended up being so delicious that we ate empanadas every day for the entire time we were in Argentina. In fact, we think the homemade ones were as good or better than any empanadas we’ve ever had (although we never went out for any in Argentina because they were so good from scratch we couldn’t justify needing to buy them out!).
We played around with fillings and came up with the four versions you see below. You’ll notice that there are very few spices or ingredients. This is very much a recipe for traveling. It’s very minimalist in order to save money and reduce waste. The rosemary was available from our Airbnb and we purchased a rice seasoning mix as our only other spice. If I was at home and had access to my full spice cabinet or a few tablespoons of milk and flour, these recipes might look a lot different. I made these recipes up on the fly and am no chef, so they’re quite simple.
We hope you enjoy!
Who needs to go out for dinner?! Our first attempt at empanadas, served with broccoli on the side.
Empanadas — 4 Ways
Ingredients
Potato
- 12 empanada dough circles (available at most grocery stores in Argentina)
- 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup canned (or box) peas
- 2 Tablespoons curry rice spice mix (any combination of curry, chili powder, onion powder, paprika)
- 2 cups shredded cheese, like mozzarella
Caramelized Onion
- 12 empanada dough circles (available at most grocery stores in Argentina)
- 2 onions, sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon thyme
- 2 cups shredded cheese, like mozzarella
Sweet Corn
- 12 empanada dough circles (available at most grocery stores in Argentina)
- 1 can yellow corn, drained
- 2 cups shredded cheese, like mozzarella
Ratatouille
- 12 empanada dough circles (available at most grocery stores in Argentina)
- 2 cups of pre-chopped mixed soup vegetables (This is common in Argentina and most of South America. It usually includes peppers, zucchini, a type of bean, onion, and green onion, but the mix can very. Any combo will work.)
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce
Directions
Potato
Boil the potatoes for approximately 10 minutes until fork tender. Drain. Stir in peas and spices.
Caramelized Onion
Heat a small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions, thyme and salt. Sauté until golden brown and soft, about 15 minutes.
Sweet Corn
No prep needed. Just open the can of corn and drain.
Ratatouille
Heat a small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the mixed vegetables. Sauté until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the marinara sauce.
All Empanadas
Preheat oven to 450°F. Working with one circle of dough at at time, place a few tablespoons of filling onto the center of the dough. Add a generous helping of cheese if applicable. Fold the dough in half and crimp the edges by pinching them together or pressing lightly with a fork. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, flip, then bake for 5 more minutes. Serve hot.