Empanadas.

Le 16 avril My uncle Jim asked me when speaking with my dad’s side of the family at Christmas time – “What’s one thing that you’ve been learning that you hadn’t expected to?”

“Cooking the way I am – Sr. Ema has a lot to teach.”

And here I am, in the middle of Africa learning how to make Argentinian empanadas… in French.

I’m very proud to say that I have officially learned how to make a traditional Latin American dish from scratch. And who better to teach me? Aline, Joselyne and I got the tutorial on how to make and work the dough, how to know if it’s reached the right consistency, how to season the meat, how to use the zig-zag cutter to make perfect little half-moon pockets, and then how to put them into the frying oil until they’re good and golden brown. MMM!

I’ve always liked empanadas, burritos, quesadillas, you name it – but biting into a hot empanada that you’ve made with your own to hands from just a pile of ingredients? Nothin’ like it.