Welcome back to Producer Profiles!
This week, we’d like to introduce you to a little pocket full of flavour, as well as the man who makes them: Gus Roger.
Latino Bake Shop specializes in hand-crafting empanadas, a traditional cultural food from Latin America. They’re portable, quick to prepare, and pack delicious, rich flavours into wonderful, hand-made dough.
Gus and his team make their dough from scratch, and have dreamed up four original fillings that are also made from scratch. Gus has been a fixture at the Farmer’s Market for years, and he’s very passionate about the quality and taste of his products. Amazingly, the Veggie Empanada contains just 70 calories, which makes it a filing snack that won’t cost you on the scale. There’s also pork chorizo for a spicier bite, con carne, which is a savoury ground beef filling, and chickcurry, which, as the name suggests, is chicken in a curry spice sauce.
You can order individual empanadas through Local & Fresh, or stock up with six-packs of your favourite flavours. They come frozen, and are ready to eat in minutes if you reheat them in your microwave, or if you can wait a bit longer, the pastry crisps up amazingly if you bake them in your oven. If you have kids who enjoy after school snacks of the “pop” variety, these pockets are a preservative-free, flavour-intensified switch that packs easily in a lunch bag or is ready to grab in your freezer.
Find them quickly under “snacks” on our site, although it’s also easy to make them a meal. We particularly like to top them with Trogi salsa or a side of SALT ketchup, but they play well with other flavours and are also delicious all on their own, as a snack or light lunch.
Follow Latino Bake Shop on Facebook or Twitter: @latinoempanadas.
Bon appetit!
The Local & Fresh Team