Queridos Empanaditos

One of the best things about living in Chile is having an empanada from a local shop after wandering around in Valparaiso for instance, those delicious pastries traditionally filled with onions, meat, black olives and eggs (empanadas de pino). There are also vegetarian options with cheese and/or spinach. You can have them fried or out of the oven and for all occasions! If you drive to the ocean there, you’ll find the empanadas filled with seafood (mariscos) and cheese…so delish! Even though, I used to call them empanaditos which made my friends laugh out loud everytime, they are my favourite!

When I left Chile for the first time, I received a very special recipe as a farewell present. It was taken from a magazine published in 1984 and covered with erasures and personal corrections. So when I came back home, I used my special recipe to make empanaditos for my family!

Voilà! They were gone very fast and their familiar taste brought me back to Chile!