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The One Thing That Separates Argentine Empanadas From Portuguese Ones

Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo are set to marry on Friday, June 30 in a suburb of their hometown of Rosario, Argentina. Prior to the big day, the pair’s wedding menu, ermahgerd, leaked.

We’ve got some fine charcuteries for the Barcelona boys to dig into (soccer moms will tell you that not including Bagel Bites could make for a foul evening, especially with Luis Suarez in attendance), but it’s the Argentine empanadas that have got me all hot and bothered.

Messi food menu

The biggest leak since that government one. Photo: @WeAreMessi | Twitter

As Dani Alves would say, there’s really one major difference between Argentine empanadas and their Portuguese counterparts.

Empanada Science according to Dani Alves

Dani Alves talking about empanadas.

Argentine empanada dough is made with wheat flour and, usually, beef drippings for the fillings. Now, the fillings could also be chicken, ham, fish or a vegetarian offering, and they can be spiced with cumin and paprika or peppers. These devilishly tasty licks can be baked or fried, it doesn’t matter, they're still gonna send you to gastro heaven.

In essence, they’re extremely authoritative in all parts of the dining experience — you’re never going to be disappointed with an Argentine empanada.

 

In Portugal, you’re going to find the equivalent in the traditional Portuguese rissois. These croquettes are covered in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Made with white sauce and beef, possibly mixed with a bit of pork or chorizo, you can flavor these suckers with black pepper or chili pepper.

A big difference between the two is that some say empanadas are traditionally bigger, and they have less lard in the dough. Basically, the biggest difference between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is that if you go to a party hosted by one or the other, the caliente portions of the meal are going to be hugely different.

That’s what Dani Alves would probably say anyway, and then he'd tell you that Italian croquettes should move to Barcelona if they want to fulfill their potential. 

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