Out of the little playground kiosk at Petone beach, Mariana’s Kitchen is serving up perfect, authentic empanadas.
It was a perfect Wellington day: the sun was shining and the wind was blowing. In its gust the word “OPEN” flashed on a red and yellow banner on the Petone foreshore. From my spot in a zooming car on Waione Street it seemed like a desolate spot to eat, the kiosk by the playground – a small and architecturally quirky building built in 1971 that someone has decided should be all grey. And yet, people filled up the wooden bench and the little metal tables. A handful lined up at the little window, ordering coffee and pointing to savoury treats inside the pie warmer. Corflute signs leaned against the building, identifying the little eatery as Mariana’s Kitchen, a spot to get Argentinian street food.
We stood nervously in line, listening in on the three people in front of us who all ordered empanadas. We had arrived at 2pm, after the lunch rush, and could see stocks were running low. The menu, with many Argentinian favourites and causes of national pride like choripan, chimichurri chicken salad and milanesa sandwiches, looked good, but we’d come for the empanadas, the perfect warm pouches of meat or vegetarian filling which are a staple in Argentina and most other Latin American countries.
They are the perfect size to hold in your hand and in essence are pastry with a savoury filling – a pie shaped like a giant dumpling. They are constructed from one circular piece of pastry, folded in half and sealed up. They can be a snack, a meal or an appetiser. You do not need a plate or any cutlery to eat them. I do not believe any new ideas, influences or innovations are needed in empanada world. Perfection was found centuries ago and should not be messed with.
Empanadas were brought to the Americas by the Spanish colonisers, who may have copied this food format from the middle east. Now, each region has their own version with different pastries and fillings. Mariana’s is clear that their empanadas are Argentinian. In the pie warmer on Sunday afternoon, there was just one beef, one chicken and one cheese, spinach and mushroom empanada left.
I was surprised not to see the usual vegetarian option, which is corn and my favorite, after beef of course. The ingredients to make a corn empanada are not expensive and it’s not tricky (creamed corn, fresh or frozen corn kernels, onion, seasonings and cheese sauce). The problem I suspect is the market. In my experience New Zealanders have yet to learn the many ways that corn can be eaten off the cob and in empanadas. When I have made corn empanadas for friends, they have been initially reluctant, but then won over at the first bite. In any case, none of my three warm paper bags (yes, we bought all the remaining empanadas) contained any corn. Nor did they contain any misc salty goop. Empanadas are pie-filler-free zones. Sure, there is the odd empanada that is disappointing for not having enough filling, but at least it is empty rather than filled with a creepy sludge.
First things first, the beef – the most common, beloved and important of the empanadas. The mince mix was made correctly. It had a good amount of slowly cooked onions and was therefore juicy. The meat was seasoned, but not too much. A crucial ingredient, too often left out of empanadas found far from their original home, aji molido (dried capsicum), was present in good quantities. Good, good, great. I believe there was also a touch of cumin, which is important. In my books, informed by empanadas in Buenos Aires, a beef empanada is best when it has boiled egg and olives. However, these polarising ingredients were sadly missing. Because some freaks hate eggs and olives, some empanaderias in the homeland make two different beef fillings, with and without them. I will forgive Mariana’s Kitchen for not having this option because everything else was perfect. Also because in some whacky regions people add other stuff like peas, carrot, potato or raisins and no way do I want to find them in my beef.
The next most important thing is the pastry. Empanada pastry is not like Edmonds, nor is it filo or short. It is thin and firm, but not crumbly. Mariana’s empanadas have it just right, are cooked to perfection and have even been lovingly brushed with egg white for a glossy golden finish. It was especially satisfying to notice the repulga – a technique of sealing the pastry, where the edges are crimped and folded together in a decorative pattern. Different patterns are used to indicate different fillings. Along the edge of the beef empanada was the traditional pattern, made by pressing the thumb down in lots of little folds, which ends up looking like a twisted braid. The chicken empanada had a press-and-fold technique on the side, while the vegetarian was sealed similarly, but along its top. Very beautiful and practical.
I wasn’t sure if I would like the cheese, spinach and mushroom empanada as it is not a traditional flavour and I can be a bit of a stickler. In Argentina the only vegetarian options I’ve seen are corn, cheese and onion or chicken. When I bit in I was pleasantly surprised – there was so much cheese! It was great value for $7.50. The spinach was fresh, wilted baby leaves and the mushrooms were sliced thinly and had been pan-fried. Yum! The chicken was wolfed down before I had a chance to inspect it, but reportedly it was “good” and “yellow” (cumin?) with the chicken cubed along with some veges and onion. The wolfer said, “it’s nice to have a slightly different pie now and then”.
Mariana’s Kitchen is a lockdown baby. After a lockdown in 2020, Mariana’s husband, Ignacio, turned a horse float into a food trailer. At first, they would park up in Eastbourne to sell empanadas, alfajores, choripan, mate cocido and cakes. In 2021 they set up shop in many markets like Newtown Fair and CubaDupa and grew their customer base, then in June of that same year, they moved into the Petone kiosk, which allowed them to make barista coffee and more food. In January 2024, Mariana opened a second, bigger location, an eatery on Queens Drive near the Lower Hutt Library. You can still find Mariana’s Kitchen at festivals and fairs, and best of all you can still find the tall, grey-haired Mariana in Mariana’s Kitchen. If she is not there, it’s because she’s at the other location or at home doing the admin. It’s likely that the smile behind the counter belongs to one of her daughters.
Mariana’s Kitchen has a little, sweet feeling. It’s not trying to be too flash, or too big, or too trendy. Both its locations are modest – one is by a beach and playground and the other is in a park alongside the library. This is food that sees its place as being in the community. It’s food that has retained family at its heart. Mariana makes good authentic food without being fussy about it. On the shelf visible from the window there’s pottles of dulce de leche and yerba mate and dulce de batata. Underneath little glass bell jars are alfajores de maizena, homemade national biscuits which are basically a crumbly dulce de leche sandwich. These, along with empanadas, are the things that Argentinians miss most from home. You will like them.
