Blog #5 - A Taste of Europe Food Fair.
Empanadas. They are as Argentinian as any food can be, an icon of Argentina's culinary culture, and a food I love so dearly that I have a cheeky tattoo of one on my ankle (I'm still debating whether it's beef or cheese). What surprised me was that the best empanada I've eaten was not in Argentina, but in Spain. I was further surprised to find out that the empanada is actually Spanish, well, sort of...
After just two bites, the tuna empanada in Valencia's Mercado Central became my favourite.
The market stand was selling empanadas with exclusively seafood fillings which was so unusual to me that I had to ask the owner Maria what Argentinian region her recipes were from. It was then and there, with an empanada tattoo on my ankle, that I learnt that the tasty pastry was originally Galician.
The Galician empanada dates back to the 8th century, where voyagers wrapped minced tuna in pastry to seal it and avoid dirt contaminating the food. The empanada became synonymous with the Galician region, reaching peak fame when featured in Ruperto de Nola's 1525 "Libro de guisados". With 1.4 million Galicians immigrating between 1857-1960 to Argentina, and the empanada being the preferred voyager food, it didn't take long for it to spread across Argentina. Each region adapted the empanada to suit regional ingredients, the beef empanada becoming a national staple.
The empanada found in Valencia's Mercado Central, and those found through the majority of Spain, nowadays resemble the modern Argentine version, smaller in size and include a repulge (the folded twists on the border). However, the Galician empanada remains a staple in its region and is eaten customarily during festive occasions.
The empanadas I made for the food fair encapsulate both the origin and the destination of the pastry. Using my mothers traditional recipe I made a beef one, while I used a Galician recipe for a tuna empanada, honouring the original version. The tuna empanada instantly reminded me of the one I ate in the Valencia and brought back the smells and noises I so vividly remember in the market. The tuna empanada was strange as its both so familiar yet also unfamiliar to me. The pastry, spices and ingredients used, all remind me of the beef empanada my mother would make, yet the tuna's texture and taste overpowered the empanada in a way that made it feel completely new and distinct from what I was used to.
Trying the tuna empanada recipe showed me the complexity of authenticity and what I consider traditional and original. The tuna empanada being the "authentic" variation feels strange to me yet something I thoroughly enjoyed cooking and tasting.
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