Firstly before going any further it must be said that there is nothing particularly Paraguayan about an empanada. These little pasties are in truth a Latin American snack. However in Paraguay at least they are the street food per excellence.
In Paraguay they are ubiquitous. For sale freshly cooked in every bar, café and on every street stall in the country.
They are simple tasty snacks. A half moon of flaky pastry with an one of several different fillings inside.
The traditional cooking method was deep frying which did make the empanada rather greasy and unhealthy. Fortunatly though these days they tend to be cooked with slighly less oil of baked in the oven.
Three fillings are always available. These are beef, chicken or cheese and ham. Beef with this being a land of cattle is the most tradicional filling and is mixed with onion and a little egg.
Of the other two options I personally find chicken to be a little dry. Cheese and ham however is what I usually opt for, the melted cheese giving texture to the empanada.
In bars and cafés there will several different flavours on offer ranging from the vegetarian option of cheese and onion to the pizza like napolitana and the Mexican inspired mexicana.
In addition to these the only limitation to additional fillings is the chefs imagination. Almost anything could be tried, somethings though are bound to prove more popular than others.
Eating an empanada is often done with a sauce to add a little flavour and take away the dryness a deep fried one sometimes has. This traditionaly will be either ketchup of chilli sauce.
A little sauce is dripped into the interior after each mouthfull. Occasionally this is more than a little. I have seen a small child consume more ketchup than empanada.
When holding the empanada a Paraguayan will wrap it in a paper napkin, to keep any sticky oil of their fingers or even place it inside a bread roll just like a hot dog.
However ever though they are eaten and whatever filling sounds appealing an empanada will always provide a quick, easy and inexpensive snack.
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