Today I am introducing something from Chile: empanadas de pino or Chilean empanadas. Empanadas are filled turnovers or dumplings, usually formed into a half moon. They are popular throughout Latin America. I already have one blog article with eight different empanada recipes. Every country claims one to be “theirs”, sometimes even a city claims to have one special empanada. For example, the city Mendoza in Argentina. Of course I have a recipe for empanadas from Mendoza on my blog. Today we are turning to Chile. Chilean empanadas are slightly sweet. This has to do with the fact that caramelized onions (pino) are used and sultanas. This contrasts nicely with the spiciness. I love this bold kind of flavor, but we warned, empanadas in general are a ton of work. You will need to make the filling, make the dough, then shape and form the empanadas and finally bake them. In addition, the caramelized onions need at least half an hour for them to be ready. But what I like about empanadas is the fact that you can spread the work over several days. Also, you can very easily freeze unbaked, empanadas.


