OP: Empanadas and Other International Turnovers

Clarkson N. Potter, Inc., 1983. Paperback. Very Good. First printing.

Have you ever enjoyed a new food so much that you are immediately inspired to make every possible version of that thing? If so, you might have a lot in common with George and Sherry LaFollette Zabriskie who published this book on empanadas in 1983.

The enthusiasm for the gospel of empanadas is palpable. The authors make the argument for the kinship between empanadas and British and Jamaican patties, pierogies, piroshkis, calzones, and samosas—all of which are represented in the book—but also encourage experimentation because what can’t be empanada-ed?

“Just because these filled pastries have been around for more than eight hundred years doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for innovation and improvement!” 

Therefore you’ll also find: baba gannoujh empanadas; shrimp and water chestnut empanadas; granola empanadas; guacamole empanadas with broccoli, cauliflower, and bell pepper; Argentine spiced beef empanadas; chicken paprikash empanadas; and peach melba empanadas; to name a few.

Fun, flavor, and good health are prioritized over notions of authenticity. They do specify that they prefer baked over fried empanadas and usually keep them in the 6-inch diameter range.

Charming, fun, and encouraging. Ours is a Very Good first printing, lightly shelfworn, issued only in paperback.