Buenos Aires: Empanada Cooking Class & Mate in Local Home

5.00

(130 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I still remember the way the smell of onions hit me as soon as we walked into Ana’s kitchen in Buenos Aires. Not sharp, but sweet and warm — like something simmering for hours. She handed us little alfajores on a chipped plate (her grandmother’s, apparently) and poured mate into these round cups I’d only seen in photos. The first sip was grassy and almost smoky; I tried not to make a face. Ana grinned — “It’s an acquired taste,” she said, like she’d seen that reaction a hundred times.

We started on the empanadas right away. The dough felt stickier than I expected, flour dust everywhere (my shirt didn’t survive), and Ana showed us how to do the repulgue — that folding thing at the edge. Mine looked lopsided but she said it had “character.” While we cooked, she set out this wooden board covered in cheese and cured meats — picada, she called it — and we just picked while talking about her neighborhood and how everyone here seems to know each other. There was Malbec too, deep red and kind of spicy; honestly, I lost track of time somewhere between kneading dough and sipping wine.

Lunch was just us around her little table with sunlight coming through the window. We ate our own empanadas (mine actually tasted good — who knew?) and Ana told stories about her family’s recipes. She talked about why she uses grass-fed beef and organic flour; it made me think about food differently, even after I left. Dessert was simple but perfect — more alfajores with sticky dulce de leche inside. I can still taste that last bite sometimes when I’m hungry late at night.