Shannon Costello

In honor of this trip I spent time yesterday and today preparing this recipe.

Salteñas are the Bolivian version of empanadas, which come from Argentina. The story is that a woman from Salta, Argentina moved to Bolvia and made a version that was so good it is still a hit today. Mothers would send their kids to buy empanadas from La Salteña, the woman from Salta. Rumor has it that they are so popular that McDonald’s was unable to compete with them and closed down. I will be on the lookout for McDonald’s. And for salteñas.

I had high hopes for this recipe. The concept of things wrapped in dough and baked appeals to me in general. The recipe also reads as if it were translated (not too carefully) from Spanish, which lends an air of authenticity. I thirded the recipe. Even so, a third of a cup of cayenne pepper is a lot. I think it is possible that the salteñas I made tasted really good underneath all that spice. And that whole thing about eating something with fat in it to help ease the burn is all well and good, but somehow the burn got on the outside of my lips too, so recovery took awhile.

I look forward to trying to recipe again someday with a lot less cayenne.