Empanadas are a favorite snack throughout the Spanish-speaking world.  They are eaten in Latin America, Spain, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.  They are made with a rainbow of fillings, from classic spiced beef to squid to tuna.

On Monday the students of the MMLA Spanish Academy attended a lesson on how to create an authentic Argentine empanada.  Ana, the leader of the workshop was born in Buenos Aires and now lives in Vermont where she carries on the Argentine traditions of Tango dancing and Empanada cooking.  In her business Ana’s Empanadas, she prepares 19 flavors of empanadas and sells about 600 empanadas per day at local Farmer’s Markets.

In the workshop, students rolled out and cut the dough, filled their empanadas with 3 different kinds of filling, and closed each one carefully with a different kind of border.  After the empanadas baked for a few minutes, students enjoyed the freshly baked product.

“Pienso es divertido y interesante porque puedo aprender cocinar da países hispanohablantes.”

I think it is fun and interesting because I can learn to cook from Spanish-speaking countries.

-Eleanor, 13

“Creo que fue bastante divertido y ya había comido empanadas pero nunca había las hecho entonces fue algo divertido y nuevo para mi.”

I think it was pretty fun and I had already eaten empanadas, but I had never made them so it was something fun and new for me.

-Brianna, 15

“Yo pienso que ese actividad fue muy divertido y la resulta estuvo muy rica.”

I think that activity was very fun and the result was delicious.

-Nathaniel, 15

“Es muy bueno experiencia pero un poco confusado porque no puedo entender mucho que habla porque ella tiene mucho acento. Pero en general fue muy divertido y las empanadas estuvieron muy ricas.”

It was a good experience, but a little confusing because I cannot understand a lot that she says because she has a heavy accent.  But in general it was fun and the empanadas were very tasty.

-Erin, 14

“Me gusta porque fue una buen descana del clase regular y buena para la cultura y bien aprendiendo sobre cocinar empanadas.”

I like it because it was a good break from regular classes and good for learning about the culture and cooking empanadas.

-Connor, 14

Thanks to Ana and MMLA, students will return home with new culinary experience and cultural insight under their belt.  Cooking is one of the best ways to experience other cultures without traveling abroad, so try making your own version of this treat at home!