A is a

Bolivian Bolivian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Bolivia ** Bolivian people ** Demographics of Bolivia ** Culture of Bolivia * SS Bolivian, SS ''Bolivian'', later SS ''Alfios'', a British-built standard cargo ship {{disambiguation ...

type of baked

empanada An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover (food), turnover consisting of pastry and stuffing, filling, common in Culture of Spain, Spain, other Southern European countries, North African countries, South Asian countries, Latin American c ...

, a type of turnover. are savory pastries filled with

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

mixed in a sweet, slightly spicy sauce containing olives, raisins, potatoes and sometimes egg. Vegetarian are sometimes available at certain restaurants. ''Salteñas'' are filled with a juicy gelatin-based stew that is solid when prepared, but melts when they are baked. Typically can be found in any town or city throughout the country, but each area has its variations;

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

and

Sucre Sucre (; ) is the ''de jure'' capital city of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the sixth most populous city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . This relatively high ...

claim to have the best version of this snack, and many will go out of their way to try the variation from

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

. In

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

and

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

, it is a tradition to enjoy as a mid-morning snack especially on sundays, although vendors often start selling very early in the morning. The pastries are sold anywhere from 7 am to noon; most vendors sell out by mid-morning.

History

Historian Antonio Paredes Candia states that during the early 19th century,

Juana Manuela Gorriti Juana Manuela Gorriti Zuviria (15 June 1818 – 6 November 1892) was an Argentine writer with extensive political and literary links to Bolivia and Peru. She held the position of First Lady of Bolivia from 1848 to 1855. With the publication o ...

was the first person to create the current version of this dish. This lady later married President

Manuel Isidoro Belzu Manuel Isidoro Belzu Humérez (4 April 1808 – 27 March 1865) was a Bolivian military officer and statesman who served as the 11th president of Bolivia from 1848 to 1855. Under his presidency, the current national anthem and flag of Bolivia we ...

. Gorriti was born in

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

, Argentina, and was exiled to

, Bolivia, during the

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

dictatorship. The Gorriti family endured extreme poverty, and they came up with the recipe in the early 19th century in order to make a living. A variation of these pastries was known at the time throughout most of Europe. The product, nicknamed ', became very popular. Candia states that it was common to say to kids: ''"Ve y recoge una empanada de la salteña"'' ("go and pick up an ''empanada'' from the woman from Salta"). In time most forgot the name Juana Manuela Gorriti, but not the nickname of her tasty snack, which eventually became a Bolivian tradition.

Variations

Brazil

The is popular in the

Brazilian states The federative units of Brazil () are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation, and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Repu ...

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul ( ) is one of Federative units of Brazil, Brazil's 27 federal units, located in the southern part of the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, bordering five Brazilian states: Mato Grosso (to the north), Goiás and ...

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...

Rondônia Rondônia () is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northern subdivision of the country (central-western part). It is bordered by Acre (state), Acre in the west, Amazonas, Brazil, Amazonas in the north, Mato Grosso in the east, and Bo ...

, and

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

, a former Brazilian territory that was part of Bolivia until 1903, where it is known as a . Other names for the pastry include , , , , and . The is especially popular in

Corumbá Corumbá () is a municipality in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, 425 km northwest of Campo Grande, the state's capital. It has a population of approximately 112,000 inhabitants, and its economy is based mainly on agriculture, ani ...

, a city in Mato Grosso do Sul that borders Bolivia, where the Ardaya family of Bolivian descent opened the city's first (place where are sold) in 1978 on the corner of Rua Sete de Setembro and Delamare. have been sold in Rio Branco, the capital of Acre, since at least 1979 when the Cantinho Lanche do Pastor was opened by Pastor Mugramy, who is of Syrian and Bolivian descent. The store is still open as of 2021 and is operated by his children and grandchildren. Today, can be found alongside other Brazilian in dining establishments throughout the country.

References

Bolivian cuisine Savoury pies Snack foods National dishes Tapas Meat dishes Olive dishes Street food Stuffed dishes {{Bolivia-cuisine-stub

History

Variations

Brazil

See also

References