Gastronomía chilena en el mundo

The New York Times alaba empanadas chilenas

El artículo fue publicado ayer, cuando el gobierno celebró el primer Día de la Cocina Chilena.

Un inesperado espaldarazo le dio el influyente New York Times a la iniciativa de la Presidenta Michelle Bachelet de convertir al 15 de abril en el Día de la Cocina Nacional. Las empanadas chilenas hicieron que la columnista gastronómica de ese diario, Florence Fabricant, les dedicara una columna en la que asegura que pueden llegar a ser irresistibles.

Fabricant plasmó en la sección "Dinning & Wine" un recorrido de 10 días por Chile. Y concluyó que "para los chilenos, la pasión se traduce en empanadas", frase que usó para titular su columna.

Ella probó empanadas fritas y de horno con todo tipo de rellenos, incluyendo machas, champiñones y queso. "Lo divertido es que llegué a comprender la pasión de los chilenos. No me cansé de ellas para nada", escribió.

Su experiencia mayor Fabricant la vivió en Santa Cruz. "En la Viña Casa Lapostolle, me sirvieron un entremés de empanaditas fritas rellenas con queso y cebollines tan delicadas que parecían flotar en la bandeja. Era inútil resistirse".

Las empanadas también fueron protagonistas ayer en la masiva degustación a la que invitó la ministra de Agricultura, Marigen Hornkohl, para celebrar el primer Día de la Cocina Chilena. La idea tras esta iniciativa es promover la industria alimentaria local y contribuir a la conservación del patrimonio cultural gastronómico.

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For Chileans, Passion Translates to Empanadas

EMPANADAS are on the menu from the Rio Grande clear down to the Strait of Magellan — not to mention at fast-food courts all over the United States.

In Chile these folded meat pies, considered to be the national dish, are so treasured that soon after Salvador Allende was elected president in 1970, he spoke of celebrating his brand of revolution not with violence, but “with red wine and empanadas.”

His compatriots’ appetite for empanadas is as strong as ever. They are served everywhere, as snacks with cocktails, at street stands, at home, at roadside rest stops and, in varied degrees of invention, in restaurants.

In the course of 10 days in Chile — in the wine country, in the Atacama Desert in the north, on Easter Island and in Santiago — I had empanadas baked and fried, with all sorts of fillings, including razor clams, mushrooms and different kinds of cheese, in addition to beef. Funny part is, I came to understand the Chilean passion for them; I did not tire of them at all.

Before a dinner at the Casa Lapostolle’s Clos Apalta winery in the Colchagua Valley south of Santiago, I was served an hors d’oeuvre of little fried empanadas filled with cheese and chives that were so delicate they fairly floated off their tray. It was futile to resist.

The Chilean empanada habit came from Spain, where empanadas have been documented since the 13th century.

“Our empanadas were introduced by the Spaniards, as in other Latin American countries,” said Constance Hamilton, a food writer in Santiago. The first Spaniards in Chile were conquistadors led by Pedro de Valdivia, who headed south from Peru in the 16th century and began settling the narrow strip of land between the Andes and the sea.

To Chileans, empanadas mostly mean empanadas al horno, which are frequently baked in a wood-burning oven. The classic versions are filled with seasoned minced (not ground) meat and onions and garnished with hard-cooked egg, olives and raisins. They can be made either in the half-moon shape that they usually take throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, or in a distinctively Chilean squared-off form made by folding all but the straight side of the semicircular turnover to make a package that is often four inches across.

The dough is made with lard.

“Though we’ve started producing very good olive oil in Chile, and it’s used more and more, dough or pastry is never made with it,” Ms. Hamilton said. She added that she finds it a little odd that United States cooks are reluctant to use lard, because it has less saturated and more unsaturated fat than butter.

Ms. Hamilton added that the filling of finely chopped meat and onion, called pino, can be cooked in either lard or olive oil.

Whatever their shape and size, empanadas are a very worthwhile addition to a cook’s repertory. I found that the dough is easy to make in a food processor, so whipping up a dozen or more is not a challenge. Baking, instead of frying, is a healthier and convenient option. But the dough has to be rolled as thin as possible, especially for folded Chilean-style empanadas that result in several layers along the edges.

As to the filling, the classic minced meat recipe is delicious, but less complicated fillings are, too. Consider sautéed mushrooms, diced cheese or seasoned canned tuna. Pulled pork, chicken, minced lamb, salt cod (bacalao), vegetable mixtures like caponata, fresh crab meat or minced cooked shrimp mixed with herbs are also fine. In other words, anything goes.

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Chile presenta sus negocios y su gastronomía en Milán y Moscú

Santiago de Chile, 16 abr (EFECOM).- Chile presentará sus negocios y su gastronomía durante las Semanas que este país celebrará en Milán (Italia) y Moscú entre el 20 y el 24 de abril, que incluyen diversas actividades económicas, culturales y sociales, informó hoy la Dirección General de Relaciones Económicas Internacionales.

Las actividades en Milán incluirán visitas a empresas, mercados mayoristas y distritos industriales, así como varios seminarios sobre distintos temas como las oportunidades de negocio en Italia, las emisiones de dióxido de carbono y el mercado editorial.

Además, se celebrará una muestra de cine chileno para generar vínculos con productores y distribuidores, se presentará un libro sobre el teatro chileno contemporáneo y se organizará una muestra de arte chileno en la Academia de Arte de Brera.

En Moscú, adonde la presidenta chilena, Michelle Bachelet, viajó a principios de abril, los empresarios chilenos se reunirán con sus pares rusos, visitarán diversas empresas y posibles puntos de venta de sus productos y participarán en un seminario sobre negocios.

Además, en ambas ciudades se celebrará una Semana Gastronómica, que se realizará entre el 14 y el 22 de abril en Milán, y del 22 al 25 en Moscú, con la presencia del reconocido chef chileno Giancarlo Mazzarelli.

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