Discover and re-discover Mexico’s cuisine, culture and history through the recipes, backyard stories and other interesting findings of an expatriate in Canada
Empanada is a generic name for patties, usually a disk of dough that is stuffed and folded in half before cooking. They may be made both wheat or corn flour, and cooked on the grill, baked, or fried. I got my recipe for fried wheat-based empanadas from my mom many years ago, and for this batch, I chose two classic Mexican fillings ... click on title for more
One last classic recipe to use up my homemade Quick Danish Dough is for these delicious empanadas hojaldradas (flaky patties). Mexican bakeries across the country offer flaky patties, with some of the most common fillings being red mole, tuna fish, cheese and roasted poblano peppers, and apple. I chose the last three flavours for this post ... click on title for more
There is an ongoing debate in Mexico about whether a folded patty may be called quesadilla even if it has no cheese (queso) inside. Mexico City dwellers say "yes", while pretty much the rest of the country says "no". In Southern Mexico, patties are called empanadas, which means "with bread", and this recipe from the state of Quintana Roo really fits the bill, since wheat flour and baking powder are added to masa (corn dough) for a softer, fluffier, more "bread-like" patty. Other unique features are the filling, traditionally seasoned shark meat called cazón, and the condiment, consisting of marinated onions and Habanero peppers, instead of bottled salsa. I am starting with nixtamalized corn flour (masa harina) since already-prepared masa is not available in my region in Canada, and instead of shark, I am using cod filets from frozen ... click on title for more
My Slice of Mexico 