Natchitoches meat pie empanada. Varieties are found throughout the colonies of the Spanish Empire. The Natchitoches meat pie is nearly identical to the traditional ground beef empanada of Argentina, Empanada de Carne. The meat pie is found all throughout Louisiana, including southern Louisiana which tends to have a spicier version compared to its northern counterpart, but its origins are found to be from Northern Louisiana. Although found in Greater New Orleans today, "The Picayune's Creole Cook Book" published in 1901 by "The Times Picayune" of New Orleans does not contain a recipe for a Natchitoches style meat pie in its list of over
Pie and mash to higher social classes. The working class were poor and favoured foodstuffs that were cheap, in plentiful supply and easy to prepare. The savoury pie had long been a traditional food, and its small handsized form also made it a transportable meal, protected from dirt by its cold pastry crust, and filled with cheap minced meat, usually mutton. Adding cheap mashed potatoes, together with a sauce made with fish stock and parsley, made it a plate-based sit-down meal. Jellied eels are often associated with pie and mash, as European eels cooked in gelatine also became a common worker's meal since