Empanada : Cuisine of Chile
Empanadas appear to be South American wontons or egg rolls. They might be more like pocket pies though. This recipe could really do with a picture.
The filling usually consists primarily of beef. It may also contain cheese, ham and cheese, humita (corn with béchamel sauce) or spinach. Fruit is used to create a dessert empanada. They are usually baked but fried empanadas are also eaten. Empanadas of the interior (?) can be spiced with peppers, more akin to those of the rest of South America.
Chilean empanadas also use a wheat flour based dough, but the meat filling is slightly different and often contains more onion. Chilean’s consider the Argentine filling seco, or dry. Fried empanadas of prawns and cheese are a favourite dish of the coastal areas, like Viña del Mar.
Colombian empanadas can contain potato and meat, stuffed in a corn-based pastry and fried.
It is likely that empanadas were originally from Galicia, Spain, where they were prepared rather like Cornish pastries as a portable and hearty meal for working people and often filled with leftovers or staple ingredients. Tuna and chicken are varieties still seen in Galicia.