What are saltenas? Bolivia's national pastry should come with a warning

PLATE UP

You should hold your saltena like it's a little bird. That's the advice I was once given by a Bolivian tour guide. Cradle that empanada in your hands like it's something delicate and alive. Keep it safe and warm. Be cautious. Because you're only one false move away from disaster. And disaster, in this case, is a whole lot of soupy gravy spilt on your shoes, or down your shirt front. A saltena is the Bolivian version of an empanada, the meat-stuffed pastries so popular in Argentina, though found throughout much of Latin America. Bolivia's favourite treat has plenty of the usual meat, vegetables and eggs, but it also contains gelatinous broth that melts into a soup when the empanada is cooked, making this treat delicious and yet very dangerous for first-time diners, whose clumsy handling and munching often results in spillage.

FIRST SERVE

Regular readers of this column will be familiar with the apocryphal stories that often accompany the creation of national dishes. King Louis XV invented French onion soup, and so on. In that vein, legend has it that saltenas were first sold in the early 19th century by Juana Manuela Gorriti, then a poor Argentinian migrant living in the city of Potosi, though a woman who would go on to marry a future president, become First Lady of Bolivia, and write three novels. Is that true? Maybe. Gorriti was from the province of Salta in Argentina, which is said to have led to the name of her signature treats: "Saltena" means a person from Salta.

ORDER THERE

Saltenas are typically a mid-morning snack in Bolivia, served at street-food stands across the country. In La Paz, give them a try at Pacena La Saltena (pacenalasaltena.com).

ORDER HERE

There's only one place to source saltenas in Sydney: La Capinota (capinota.com.au), which does takeaway orders from Lurnea. In Melbourne, the closest you will get is the excellent Argentinian-style empanadas at San Telmo (santelmo.com.au).

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