Empanadas on the Steps of the Spanish Inquisition

Living in Lima would suit me.  Limeans love to snack and so do I.  On every corner, in public spaces and along the streets, there are vendors selling a wonderful array of snacks.  Churros (mmm), Churritos (mini mmm), Ceviche, Popcorn, Buttered Corn (buttery mmm), stuffed bread rolls – they are all there for the taking, costing only a few Peruvian Neuvo Sols. 

Empanadas are a meat filled pastry snack that’s very popular, sold not only in the streets but at various fast food joints, panaderias (bakeries) and supermarkets.  On this particular day we had some time to waste before we went on the English language tour of the Spanish Inquisition Building so a couple of empanadas filled the time and the hole in our stomachs

Our empanadas comprised of a short crust pastry filled with mildly spiced shredded beef or chicken, a few slices of green olive, a couple of slices of boiled egg and some sultanas.  Although savoury in nature, they are dusted with icing sugar, not unlike the Pigeon Bastilla of Morocco.  A squeeze of sharp lime brings the faintly sweet and savoury flavours together.  As you can see from the photos, they are a handful and we thought them great value at S/- 2 each (70c) until we found some the following day for S/- 1 each.