Empanadas, locro and humita are some of the regional delicacies to be discovered in Salta and northern Argentina. And if the question is where to go for them, the wide variety of restaurants and peñas, including folklore shows, serves as an answer.
Salta’s empanadas are famous. Their main characteristic is that they include potatoes, while they do not have either peas nor olives, and only in some cases raisins are added. It is impossible to leave Salta without having tried them.
The tamales are prepared and served with corn husks wrapped as a package. They may have cheese and can be sweet or salty, though the latter are more common. To taste them you first have to smell the aroma coming out of that tempting package, then you have to cut the wadding, which uses the same husk as a strip to tie the package, and finally open it and start to smell the filling. A real art!
The locro is a stew made with corn, beans and red pumpkin to which beef and pork bones are added . At serving time, and according to one’s taste, a sauce made with fried onion, pepper and hot pepper may be added. It’s a typical winter meal and is almost as popular as the empanadas. When the locro is tasty in Salta they say it is “pulsudo”. Keep it in mind, it is a cheap and satisfying dish.