From Argentina With Love

Empanadas de Zapallo y Queso de Cabra--Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Empanadas

 

For the last week or so, like most Americans, I've been talking turkey. (gobble, gobble) It's because of Thanksgiving, of course!  Whether you like to cook or just like to eat, food is at the center of the day.  It's either a day one looks forward to (those who are eating) or dreads (those who are hosting).

Now that our son, Esteban, is three, one of my concerns is also trying to incorporate my husband's Argentinean culture into our family celebrations alongside my American one.  It's important to both of us  that both of our backgrounds are honored and that Esteban feels at home in both places. We want him not just to be proud of his lineage, but also to understand the different cultures he comes from--and hopefully he'll have 'the best of both worlds'. 

Nirmala's Edible Diary Cookbook Giveaway!

Nirmala Narine, who has been called 'the Indiana Jones of Spices', was born in Guyana in the family kitchen on an empty flour sack, delivered by a marijuana-puffing midwife.  Her grandfather was an Ayurvedic scholar and Hindu priest who introduced her to the importance of spices and cooking holistically.

Narine spent the first ten years of her life in this incredible Amazonian patchwork before the family moved to Queens, New York.  There she was educated and introduced to a whole new crazy-quilt of ethnicities and cultures--and the flavors they brought with them. 

Lechon and more Argentinean Holiday Favorites

 Christmas came early for us this year (at least the dinner part, anyway!)  We invited friends Kazia, Carina and Julio, Ruth and Brit, and Larry to join us in celebrating an Argentinean Christmastime feast.  The dinner:  all of the traditional holiday favorites, Argentina style.  The menu included:

Shrimp Cocktail

Onion and Roquefort Empanadas

Pionono with Tuna, Roasted Red Peppers and Olives

Rice-Stuffed Tomatoes

Waldorf Salad

Ensalada Rusa

Lechon (Roast Suckling Pig)

Pionono with Dulce de Leche

Fernet and Coke

Plenty of Malbec
 

Empanadas 101--Pre-madeTapas and FAQ

 

I wanted to write a simple and hands-on post about how to make Empanadas.  Here is the basic set-up for any type of empanada, though the ones shown here are Empanadas Mendocinas (This video shows the sealing technique called repulgue).   

Chicken, Leek and Green Pepper Empanadas--Empanadas de Pollo, Puerro y Pimiento

 

The name of these empanadas, like so many things, just sounds better in Spanish.

Empanadas de Pollo, Puerro, y Pimiento--it's almost like a tongue twister school kids would recite for better diction.  (Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico. Con un pico pica papas Pepe Pecas. Pepe Pecas picks potatoes with a pick.  With a pick picks potatoes Pepe Pecas.) 

Or it could be a phrase learned on a Spanish language cd--I can almost hear the velvet-voiced narrator say it:  "Listen and repeat:  Empanadas de Pollo, Puerro y Pimiento."