Empanada

An empanada is a baked or fried turnover made by folding dough over a savory or sweet filling, a dish found across Spain, Portugal, other parts of Southern Europe, North and West Africa (where in Ghana and Nigeria it is known as a meatpie), South Asia, Latin America, and the Philippines. Its name derives from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to coat with bread, and translates to “breaded” or wrapped in bread. The exact origins of the empanada are unknown, though it is thought to have emerged in the 7th century in Galicia, northwest Spain. A 13th-century reference appears in the Cantigas de Santa Maria (c. 1282), which describes a thief holding a chicken leg taken from an empãada. Around the same period, Rabbinic Jewish texts—including writings by Asher ben Jehiel, Yom Tov of Seville, Aaron ben Jacob, and Jacob ben Asher—mention inpanada and panada as bread products filled with fat, meat, or fish. A Catalan cookbook from 1520, Robert de Nola’s Llibre del Coch, includes recipes for empanadas filled with seafood, reflecting influences from Catalan, Italian, French, and Arabian cuisines. Across regions, fillings vary widely: in Argentina, empanadas are a staple at parties and festivals, with distinct local versions such as the small, spicy salteñas of Salta or the lamb-filled pastries of Patagonia. Belizean panades use masa dough and are stuffed with fish, chicken, or beans, then deep-fried. Brazil’s pastéis are thin-crust half-circles or rectangles fried in vegetable oil, filled with ground meat, cheese, or heart of palm. Chilean empanadas include the baked de horno with seasoned beef, olives, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs, as well as deep-fried cheese versions. Colombian empanadas are made with cornmeal dough, filled with seasoned meats, potatoes, or rice, and served with lime and spicy ají sauce.