Empanadas are versatile stuffed pastry pockets

Empanadas are savory, stuffed pastry pockets, a beloved staple in Latin American cuisine with roots in 16th-century Spanish and Portuguese influences. Their name comes from the Spanish verb 'empanar,' meaning to wrap in bread, perfectly describing their simple construction. These delightful pockets can be baked for a lighter, flaky texture, popular in Argentina, or fried for a golden, crunchy exterior, favored in Mexico and Chile.