Craving for a Savory Pastry

Europe

Latvia

Piragi are crescent-shaped pastries that are one of the national dishes of the country. They are prepared with a yeast dough and filled with chopped bacon and onions first fried up on a pan. Other versions can include minced meat, cabbage, or cottage cheese.

Lithuania

Kibinai is a traditional pastry with dough made with butter, eggs, and sour cream or kefir. The dough is hand-rolled and filled with minced mutton seasoned with onions and various herbs. Shaped like crescents, they are pinched closed.

England

Pasties are traditional pastries that are baked golden brown. Dough is filled with potatoes, Scotch eggs, cheese, or Marmite. There are also Shepherd’s pie pastries.

France

Gougères are tiny, hollow pastry puffs made from choux dough and cheese, most commonly grated Comté, Emmentaler, or Gruyère.  They are served as appetizers.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

A savory Bosnian pie, sirnica is prepared with phyllo dough and filled with fresh cow cheese, sour cream, and eggs. The thin sheets of dough are spread with the cheese mixture, and the pie is rolled into a spiral.

Bulgaria

Banitsa sas sirene (Banitsa with cheese) is a traditional pie. It is made by layering sheets of buttered phyllo dough with a combination of eggs, yogurt, and cheese such as sirene or feta.

Hungary

Pogácsa is a popular Hungarian snack consisting of a small, bite-sized pastry that can be either sweet or savory. Preferably, they should be eaten while still hot.   There are numerous varieties of pogácsa—cheese, cabbage, potatoes, bacon, and pumpkin seeds, to name a few.

Poland

Paszteciki are well-known traditional pastries prepared with yeast dough. They are filled with mushrooms, cabbage, or minced meat. Once baked they are traditionally served with hearty soups.

Serbia

Pazarske mantije is a dish that originated in Novi Pazar. These savory pastries are shaped into small spheres. The dough is brushed with butter and stuffed with ground beef, salt, pepper, onions, and some oil. After the dough is shaped into small balls, arranged on a baking pan, and baked until golden. These are usually accompanied by yogurt poured on top and eaten while hot,

Greece

Tiropita is a popular snack prepared with phyllo dough. The dough is filled with a combination of cheese like feta and eggs. Served as an appetizer, it is accompanied by various dips on the side.

Italy

Focaccia di Recco col formaggio is a delicious cheese-filled focaccia that originated in the town of Recco, Liguria’s gastronomic capital. It is prepared without yeast using a paper-thin, hand-pulled crust filled with soft, mild-flavored cow’s milk cheese from Alpine pastures known as stracchino or crescenza.

Portugal

Pastel de Chaves is a clam-shaped Portuguese delicacy made with a puff pastry shell that is filled with a unique mixture of minced veal, bread, and onions.

Asia

India

Samosas are deep-fried triangular pastries that are filled with a variety of ingredients like onions, lentils, spiced potatoes, peas, or ground meat. They’re served hot, accompanied by chopped onions, yogurt, or fresh, homemade Indian chutneys.

Israel

Bourekas are savory pastries popular throughout Israel and other parts of the Middle East. They are made from thin layers of phyllo dough filled with cheese, potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, or meat.

Malaysia

Karipap or curry puff is a deep-fried or baked pastry, It is filled with chicken and potato curry. It is a creation of the Malay Peninsula and parts of Somatra and Borneo. Other versions can be filled with tuna, sardines, or beef rendang.

Africa

Morocco

Small, crispy Moroccan pastries, briouats are filled with a variety of ingredients like chicken, lamb, cheese, or lemon. The pastry can be fried or baked and is sprinkled with herbs and spices.

Caribbean

Haiti

Pate Haitien are delicacies of puff pastry shaped into small squares. These are filled with meat like beef, chicken, pork, or fish. When served, they can be accompanied with rice and beans.

Jamaica

Jamaican patties are popular all across the Caribbean. They’re baked handheld patties filled with seasoned meat, vegetables, or seafood. The distinct yellow color of the dough comes from turmeric or curry powder and the filling includes Jamaican spices like allspice, thyme, Scotch bonnet pepper, and scallion.

South America

Argentina

From the region of Tucumán, a specialty is empanada tucumanas. These are usually handmade from old traditional recipes. First a dough is made with wheat flour and beef fat and then filled with beef, chicken, or tripe, onions, hard-boiled eggs, paprika, and cumin. Traditionally, Tucumanas are baked in clay ovens.

Chile

Empanadas chilenas are prepared with wheat flour dough filled with ground beef, onions, olives, raisins, and hard-boiled eggs.