The Travel Chica

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Foto of the Week from … Sucre: Savory Salteñas

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I finally tried one of the most popular breakfast foods in Sucre.

The reason it took so long is that I normally don’t eat a heavy breakfast (unless I’m having brunch at Malvon), and I find it a bit odd that people would choose this is a breakfast food.  But once I tried them, I no longer cared what time it was.

What is a Salteña?

A salteña is a savory baked pastry, basically the Bolivian version of an empanada.

The dough is thicker like a pot pie crust in order to hold the hearty filling.

In Sucre it seems that there are two popular styles, de caldo and de pollo.

Salteñas de pollo are filled with a chicken stew that usually includes onions, potato, achiote (a paste made from a South American tree), and a bit of cumin, pepper, oregano, turmeric, and sugar.

Salteñas de caldo are filled with a chopped beef stew that usually includes peas, potatoes, onions, black olives, and a bit of crushed red pepper, cumin, oregano, and sugar.

I have not yet visited every country in Latin America, but so far the best style of empanada goes to Bolivia.

Check out more Fotos of the Week from Bolivia!

What is your favorite style of empanada?

Comments

  1. Okay, I need to really work on my food photos…Uh, oh well. I’d like to try with minus the meat.

  14. Yum, I miss these! Did you have trouble with the insides spilling out when you took the first bite? I remember reading that they’re kind of a late morning snack… I went to a place in Sucre where saltenas seemed to be the main dish, and the place was packed around 11am… it seemed more like brunch or dim sum than breakfast, which makes sense because saltenas are kind of heavy!
    Ekua recently posted..Photo Essay: Street Art and Graffiti in Berlin

    • I read how to eat them on the internet before I went, and I made sure to watch the others around me. You hold it on one end and peel off the tip. Some people then scoop out the insides with a spoon (but never going too far below the shell), and some people just go for it and eat very carefully with then open end of the saltena always up so the juice doesn’t spill everywhere.

      Yes, I think you are right that it is a little later in the morning. However, this spot I went to in Sucre is super popular, and I read you have to get there early, or they run out. They open at 8am. I think I went around 10am, and I was good. Didn’t want to risk it!
      Stephanie – The Travel Chica recently posted..Playing With My Food in Tomatitas

  15. mmmmmmm Saltenas (sorry don’t have the n on this keyboard). Did you manage to try the ones from El Patio? They were worth waiting in line for. I think that’s the place that Ekua mentions above.
    Pete recently posted..To be Humbled

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