EL REPULGUE

THE TRADITIONAL DECORATION

‘USE THE DECORATED EDGE AS A GUIDE TO THE FILLING HIDDEN INSIDE THE EMPANADAS. ’WITH THIS INSTRUCTION,CLASICO ARGENTINO FOLLOWS THE ARGENTINIAN TRADITION OF THE ‘REPULGUE’.

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to translate the Spanish word repulgue. But this noun, which comes from the verb repulgar, meaning ‘to hem’, gives the empanada its character. The repulgue is the name of the decorative edging of the empanada. Traditionally, this edging is not just aesthetic, it also identifies the flavour of the empanada for the empanada-lover. Each empanada uses a specific pattern for each filling. Some have come to be associated with particular fillings over the years, so it’s no surprise to find the same design throughout Argentina for beef, corn or chicken empanadas. Others, however, are specific to the particular casa de empanada or customised by the chefs who make them. Clasico Argentino has created eight repulgue of its own, while also using the more traditional patterns and adapting others.

In Argentina, guessing the empanada filling has become a party game. Each person has to find their trio, quartet or quintet of empanadas based on their decoration. When someone accidentally eats someone else’s empanada, they have to make it up by offering them one of their own. Since it’s a common mistake, what someone eats often varies from what they ordered! To make it easier, at Clasico Argentino we slip in a sheet of paper showing the different repulgue inside the lunch or delivery box.