Incredible Empanadas & Fresh Pasta in Sarasota

This evening, we had wonderful empanada dinner from Peperonata Pasta in Sarasota. It is run by a family of Italian immigrants from Argentina, which accounts for the strange-sounding combination of empanadas and pastas.


As we were leaving Trader Joe's this afternoon, I remembered recently reading a Herald Tribune article about a place that had some kind of specialty food in the shopping center on the south side of Trader Joe's. We drove into the shopping center parking lot, and quickly realized the place I had been thinking about was Peperonata Pasta (http://www.peperonatapasta.com/).


I went inside and was delighted with what I found. First, there was a counter with many types of empanadas - at least 12 varieties, including:


Arabian lamb "fatay"
Cheese & Onion
Four Cheese
Ham & Cheese
Humita
Margarita
Mediterranean beef
Spicy Chicken
Spinach
Squash
Steak & Cheese
Veggies


I chose the Arabian Lamb, Humita, Spinach, and Margarita. They were all fantastic. The ingredients were:
1. Arabian lamb - ground lamb, lemon juice, onion, tomato, red bell pepper, spices. These were created from the cuisine of Arab immigrants to Argentina - principally from Lebanon & Syria. The flavor reminded me very much of the Arab meat pies my mother used to make.
2. Spinach - spinach, onion, canola oil, nutmeg, garlic, and béchamel sauce.
3. Humita - caramelized onion, corn, peppers
4. Margarita - mozzarella, basil, tomato


The empanadas cost $3 apiece. They are fully cooked and can be reheated in 6-7 minutes in an oven at 450 degrees. The heating time depends on the type of empanada. For example, the open-top fatay only take 6 minutes.


In addition to the empanadas, Peperonata Pasta produces an incredible variety of fresh pastas, including a number that I had not seen before. The pastas included: amori, angel hair, bucato, bucatoni, campanelle, canestri, casarecce, creste di gallo, fettuccine, fusilli, linguini, mafalda, pappardelle,  penne, radiatori, rigatoni, rotini, and tagliatelle. They also sell ravioli and gnocchi. They carry a line of vegan soy flour pastas.


They also make their own chimichurri sauce and pasta sauces, etc., etc., etc.


You can dine in or order to go. Additionally, you can buy their pastas on line.


Their pastas are so good that they sell to Whole Foods.
Mr. Fochi, whom I assume is the owner spent a lot of time explaining his products.


The bottom line is that if you like empanadas and/or pastas, it is well worth a visit to their store or their booth at the Saturday Sarasota Farmers Market.