Empanada Day

Empanadas. natha92_l03 / Pixabay.com / 2018 / CC0 1.0

The 8th of April is Empanada Day.

Empanadas are baked or fried hand pies, typically made in the shape of half moons, and stuffed with a filling which can be savoury, or sweet. They are made throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

They are easy to eat out of hand.

To celebrate today, you could:

• find some sold as street food from a food truck;
• go to a restaurant and have them;
• buy frozen and cook up at home;
• compare varieties from different countries to see which you like best.

You could also have some friends over and have a party to make them as a group activity. Children might enjoy making them, too. (Tip! for less stress as a group activity, make filling(s) the day before and store in fridge.)

#EmpanadaDay #NationalEmpanadaDay

History

The earliest print mention of an Empanada Day in April that CooksInfo is aware of at this point dates to 2005 in Alabama:

“This is also National Empanada Day… and I don’t know anything about that, either.” ^[1]Smith, George. Memorial slated for Swinford. Anniston, Alabama: The Anniston Star. Friday, 8th April 2005. Page B1, col. 1.

Sources

Carrion, Kelly. On National Empanada Day, Why We Love Empanadas. NBC News. 8 April 2015. Accessed March 2021 at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/its-national-empanada-day-n337441

Esbenshade, Claudia. Sunday is National Empanada Day: Here are 8 places to score empanadas. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster Online. 7 April 2018. Accessed March 2021 at https://lancasteronline.com/features/food/sunday-is-national-empanada-day-here-are-places-to-score/article_17a84d56-162f-11e7-85d7-5b9a04709de7.html

Restuccia, Danielle. A delicious National Empanada Day to celebrate. Los Angeles, California: La Opinión. 8 April 2018. Accessed March 2021 at https://laopinion.com/2014/04/08/a-delicious-national-empanada-day-to-celebrate/

University of Nebraska-Lincoln. April Food Calendar. Accessed March 2019 at https://food.unl.edu/april-food-calendar#empanada