These fluffy, flaky and savoury Uruguayan empanadas are baked in Brampton

My favourite typeof street-style food is any kind of savoury stuffed pastry. I'm a sucker for Jamaican patty, Indiansamosa,egg-stuffedparathas, Chinesebao, SriLankanshort eats (I'll take all of them please), andempanadas.

A really satisfyingempanadais harder to track down in the city. My personal preference is abaked version that derivesfrom Argentina. They are half-moons with a slightlysweet and soft dough stuffed with lightly spiced meat and vegetables. Uruguayanempanadas,I recently learned, are similar to theArgentinianvariety.

"The only difference really is the spicing sometimes and the use of olives," CindySilvera, owner of LaGranUruguayaexplained.

Silveraand her partnerJermaineDuhaneysell an assortmentof Uruguayan pastries that aresavoury and sweet at their bakery inBrampton. Puffyempanadasare baked daily that are stuffed with vegetables, cheese, and meat. My go-to is the classic lightly spiced beef.

I learned of LaGranUruguaya, a parking spot-sized bakery located at the back of a strip mall, whileeating through a strip mall at Kennedy Road and Clarence Street inBrampton.

That strip, visible from the main road, has a row ofSriLankan, south Indian, and Nigerian shops. Tucked behind the row of restaurants is a larger, newer strip mall with a dozen more restaurants, includingVietnamese,Trini, and Afghani cuisine.

The street-facing restaurants are run by an older generation of first-wave immigrants, while the eateries in the new plaza are run by second-generation immigrants.

LaGranUruguayais tucked away in an adjacent building across the street close, to the residential neighbourhood. I was tipped off by the owner of a Nigerian restaurant in the row who expressed his love for a young couplemaking great Uruguayanempanadas.

Here's how a traditional Uruguayan empanada comes together

6 years ago

Duration 1:10

Empanadas are baked daily at this Uruguayan bakery in Brampton.

"There's a sizeable Latin American population inBrampton, but we don't see any Uruguayan places," said co-ownerDuhaney.

Duhaneyis of Grenadiandescent andSilveracomes from aUruguayan family. Both were born in Canada,met when they were young and decided two years ago to open their shop.

Silverasaid there are bakeries everywhere in Uruguay and that's why she decided to open one in Canada.

"They are meeting places for the local communities, right? So we wanted our own here," she said.

LaGranUruguayabecame a hit with the local Latin American contingent. You will run into throngs of families that stop by to pick up boxes ofempanadasandbiscochoson the weekends.

Biscochosare similar tocroissants, a slightlyferment-ybut flaky pastry that is stuffed with sweet jams anddulcedeleche.

Due to the small seatingin the bakery, you'll spot families enjoying anempanadaor two curbside before they jump in the car and drive off. Important to note:if you wantbiscochos, go on the weekend and go early. They sell out quickly and are only sold on the weekend.

The best way to enjoy LaGranUruguayais to pick up an assorted box of savouryempanadas.They freeze very well, and get one or two ready to eat on the way out. I would suggest one stuffed with cheese, andtry the jerk chickenempanada.

"It took us a few tries to perfect this,"Duhaney explained.

"We felt that anempanadais a perfect vessel for something like jerk chicken."

I agree. Imagine chunks of heavily spiced chicken wrapped in a puffy blanket of dough. Itpacks a punch, the flavour and textural contrasts work very well in anempanada.

The jerk chickenempanadais a result ofSilveraandDuhaneyexperimenting in the kitchen to expand beyond the classic menu. It is my favourite thing they make, along with whatever sweetbiscochosI can get my hands on.