Pabellon Empanadas

An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Southern European, Latin American, and the Philippines cultures.

Traditional Venezuelan empanadas are made with ground corn dough, though the modern versions are made with precooked corn. The dough may have a yellow color when toasted due to the addition of annatto. The fillings are very diverse, with the most conventional being cheese, shredded beef, chicken, cazón (school shark) in the Margaritan Island region especially, ham, black beans and cheese (commonly called "dominó") and even combinations of mollusks. The Empanadas have a half moon shape and are fried in oil. Sometimes, they may have more than one filling as in the case of Empanadas de pabellón[26] which are made with the filling of shredded beef (or cazón in the Margarita Island region), black beans, slices of fried plantain, and shredded white cheese.

Empanadas are one of the most consumed meals in Venevuela, especially for breakfast, and are often served with side condiments like guasacaca, mayonnaise, and hot sauces. They are sold in establishments to take ferries and popular marketplaces.

One variant are the pastries that are prepared with wheat flour or puff pastry and are found in circular, square, or half moon shape.