Definition of "empanada" [empanada]

• A Spanish or Latin-American turnover with a flaky crust and a spicy or sweet filling. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "(Not to mention things I can't eat but which are supposedly good, like a tuna and raisin empanada or some lamb sausages ...)"
• "Escargot empanada with serrano pepper butter puff pastry"
• "The idea of an empanada may originate from the Moors, who occupied Spain for 800 years.citation needed Middle Eastern cuisine to this day has similar foods, like simbusak a fried, chickpea filled "empanada" from Iraq."