Empanadas

Chile Lindo Empanadas – A Chilean Staple!

Baked empanadas are considered Chile’s national dish. Chile Lindo Empanadas are considered a Mission District classic.

We currently serve the following fresh baked Chile Lindo Empanadas:

  • Empanada de Pino Tradicional/Niman Ranch Beef -Once the dough is properly hand-kneaded it is flattened by stretching, from end to end, through the dough-sheeter, then it’s folded into thirds, and stretched again, numerous times, to desired thickness. With a circle cutter the stretched dough is cut into 10-inch dough circles, and the stack is refrigerated overnight. Following, each circle is individually hand-filled with “el Pino” (beef and onion stuffing), a few raisins, a black olive, and a slice of hard-boiled egg (cage-free). Each empanada is individually wrapped and traditionally folded into an authentic Chilean empanada. The stuffing, called “pino,” consists of minced meat (Niman’s Ranch All-Natural beef) and sautéed onions, seasoned with paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper. Once baked golden brown the mix of flavors makes for a delicious meal.
  • Empanada Chilanga /Cheese-Jalapeño - Freshly kneaded dough, rolled and cut to size, is folded over cheddar and mozzarella cheese, spiced with a hint of Jalepeño peppers.
  • Vegan Empanada /Yves Meatless Ground – Following the recipe of Chile Lindo’s authentic “Pino” (beef) empanada, we substitute the beef with Yves Meatless Ground Round Original–a soy and wheat meat-like consistency formula. Then, add raisins and an olive. Thus offering our Vegan customers an alternative that borders on the original Chilean beef empanada.

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Baked to perfection, fresh out of the oven, Chile Lindo Empanadas are at their peak!

The preparation of a classic Chilean Empanada de Pino is a labor intensive process, that involves three separate steps:

  • Cooking the stuffing–”Pino”: finelly chopped onions are sautéed with cumin and paprika. Separately, the beef is seared with salt & pepper.  Then the onions and beef are combined.
  • Preparing homemade dough: the dough is kneaded by hand, then stretched to precise thickness, and subsequently each dough circle is cut to size, and the stacked is refrigerated overnight.
  • Assembling and folding each empanada: each 10-inch dough circle is hand-filled with “Pino,” an olive, raisins, & slice of hard boiled egg (cage free). Traditional fold, egg wash, and bake.

History: Colonial Spaniards brought the empanada to Chile in the 16th-century; however, it is common knowledge that the true origin derived from the Arab world, dating back to the 8th-century, possibly emerging from the fatay–an Arab dish introduced to Spain during the Moors 700 year long invasion of the Iberian Peninsula. Considering the mix of ingredients, cumin, raisins, olive, paprika–this is most likely to be true.

The term, empanada, originates from the Spanish verb empanar, meaning to wrap in bread (pan means bread in Spanish).

Stop by our Mission location and get hooked!