European Cousins

The Italian kitchen is famous for a wide variety of stuffed pasta e.g. Agnolotti, Cappelletti, Pansotti, Ravioli, Ravioloni, Ravioletti, Tortellini, Tortelli, Tortelloni, Calzone and Panzarotti. These are fresh pasta sheets that are stuffed with a filling and then folded into whimsical shapes. After they're cooked, they're often served with a light sauce, or in a broth or as pasta salad.

 

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Stuffed Pasta

In Portugal, the pastry turnover is called an empadinha. These are usually filled with meat and baked. The sweet version of the empadinha is called pasteis---a Portugese version of a custard tart.

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The spanish empanadas are pies of olive-oil pastry with meat or fish filling. The word empanada comes from Spanish for "breaded" and means "in dough" or "that which is covered with bread." The term empanada is used for any raw or cooked filling wrapped in a dough and baked in the oven or over an open fire.

Empanadas range in size from the huge empanada gallega, large enough to feed an entire family, to empanaditas--tiny, ravioli-size pastries. The classic empa-nada comes from Galicia in north-west Spain and is made with chicken, onions and peppers. There are also some delicious recipes with sweet fillings.

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