Empanada gallega
A Galician double-crust savoury pie, baked flat in a tray and cut into squares, classically filled with tuna or cod in a slow-cooked onion-and-pepper sofrito.
The Galician empanada is not the small folded, fried pastry of Latin America — it is a large, flat, double-crust pie baked in a tray and cut into squares. Between two layers of bread or pastry dough sits a filling bound in a slow-cooked sofrito of onion, pepper and paprika-tinted oil: tuna (empanada de atún), cod, cockles or zamburiñas, or meat. It is picnic and fiesta food, cut into portions and eaten warm or at room temperature, and a common sight in Galician bars and bakeries across Spain.
How it's served
Cut into squares as a starter, tapa or picnic food, warm or at room temperature.
Regional variation
Distinct from the small, folded, often fried empanadas of Latin America; the Galician version is a large flat tray pie sliced into portions.
- Origin
- Galicia, Spain
- Etymology
- From the Spanish empanar, 'to coat or wrap in bread or dough'.
Frequently asked
How is a Galician empanada different from a Latin American empanada?
The Galician one is a large flat pie baked in a tray between two sheets of dough and cut into squares. Latin American empanadas are small individual turnovers, folded into half-moons and often fried. Same word, very different format.
What is the classic filling?
A slow-cooked sofrito of onion and pepper with tuna is the best-known, but cod, cockles, zamburiñas (small scallops) and meat are all traditional.
Related terms
- SofritoA slow-cooked base of onion, tomato and garlic in olive oil. The starting point for most Spanish rice dishes, stews and sauces.
- BacallàSalt-cured Atlantic cod. The backbone of Catalan, Basque and inland-Spanish cooking for centuries; soaked in water before use, then prepared a hundred different ways.