Although they are hugely popular in countries throughout South America, there鈥檚 likely only one place you鈥檒l find freshly-made empanadas in Squamish 鈥� at the weekly farmers鈥� market.
鈥淎n empanada is one of the most popular handheld foods,鈥� says Denise D鈥橴va, co-creator of Gauchos Food, who explains that their crescent-shaped pastries contain three different types of vegetarian fillings made using local ingredients, plus a secret spice blend passed down from her mother.
D鈥橴va, who is originally from Argentina, says, 鈥淲henever we鈥檇 come back home, my mom would greet us with empanadas and we鈥檇 say these are beautiful, we need to share these with people.鈥�
The idea though of selling them via a market stand didn鈥檛 really occur to them until her partner, Maty Mozo (whom she met travelling), says he received a sign while on vacation in Hawaii that they had to make empanadas in Canada.
鈥淚t was like a feeling,鈥� he says. 鈥淟ast year we used to go to the markets and I always felt attracted to it and said to Denise, 鈥榃e need to do something here.鈥欌��
At home, making empanadas for the family can take up to two hours, D鈥橴va explains, but for their first market stand they prepared more than 200 while working 10 hours through the night. 鈥淚t was a lot of work,鈥� she says, but adds that being able to share something from their home country and hearing people say how delicious they were the next day was rewarding.
Considering how popular meat is in Argentina, people are often surprised to discover their empanadas are vegetarian, but the three flavours they鈥檝e chosen to share at their stand are their favourite ones and seem to be popular locally.
The Caprese, she explains, contains tomato, basil, garlic, mozzarella and olive oil. The slightly spicy Fugazzeta includes caramelized onions and cheese and, although it can be tricky to pronounce, is the most popular flavour. 鈥淎nd the healthy one that many climbers like to buy is the spinach one with hard-boiled eggs, onions, peppers, spinach and secret spices from my mom,鈥� she says.
For some people, it鈥檚 the first empanada they鈥檝e ever had, she explains. 鈥淲hen I look around, I see people here with empanadas and it just feels so nice. It鈥檚 not normal to see these in Canada.鈥�
Offering shoppers in Squamish the experience of trying something from Argentina is a wonderful feeling, adds Mozo.
Like many farmers鈥� market vendors, they both juggle having a stand with working, but hope to focus more on empanadas next year. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what we really like to do,鈥� says Mozo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of work. It looks easy but there鈥檚 a lot of work behind it. Every week we learn something new鈥� and always try to improve our product.鈥�
D鈥橴va adds, 鈥淲e are so grateful to the people in Squamish鈥� I remember my mom saying that the most rewarding thing for someone who cooks is for the people eating it to say: 鈥楾hat鈥檚 very nice, thank you.鈥� And now we have the opportunity to say thank you to the people for all their support.鈥�
Although they just had their last market stand for this season, they have a supply of empanadas in the freezer for anyone who鈥檇 like to order any and hope to be back for the Squamish Winter Farmers鈥� Market.
For more information about Gauchos Food, visit www.facebook.com.
