Interested in learning how to make the best Argentina empanada? Francis Mallmann’s protégé, Cristina Bruno at Finca Adalgisa shares her recipe!
From the deep-fried empanadas de jaiba stuffed with crabmeat and a dash of merkén pepper so typical along the southern coast of Chile, to the flaky pastry of the oven-baked empanada criolla of Uruguay filled with minced beef and olives, or the spicy chicken stew that graces the empanadas of Bolivia, known as salteñas: there’s a regional favourite in every corner of the continent. And I whole-heartedly recommend you try them all!
But if there’s one empanada that’s closer to my heart than the rest, it’s the mouth-watering empanada mendocina: cooked in an horno de barro (a clay oven). Filled with sliced steak, loads of onion and served with homemade chimichurri sauce — it’s a true classic in Argentine wine country and an art form in its own right.
There are few chefs in Mendoza who have taught quite as many people to make these classic empanadas as Francis Mallmann’s protégé, Cristina Bruno at Finca Adalgisa, whose private cooking classes sell out months in advance. And she has shared her closely-guarded recipe with us — one that has been years in the making with her family.
