When I first moved to Barcelona, I was very wary about tuna empanadas. I come from Colombia, where we have beef, chicken, or cheese empanadas, but never tuna. And also, the format is individual style, as opposed to this baked “pie” version.
But, as time went by, this was served at parties, as a tapa, or as a main course. And when I tried it, I fell in love. I love that the tuna stays moist and tender because of the sofrito. And I thought that it was going to taste overly fishy, since the tuna is cooked. But no, what I found was this delectable, moist and utterly delicious pastry. The only problem, is that you can get really bad ones more than you get really, really good ones.
So I decided to make my own. When you read the recipe, you might think, that is A LOT of oil. But don’t worry. Once you finish cooking the veggies, you use the oil for the dough, to give it that wonderful reddish color.
Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the pieced out portions, since my fabulous oven decided to act up again, and the top of the crust baked beautifully, but apparently it didn’t feel like cooking the underside. I think I am going to have to ask my landlord for a new oven.
But, in my house nothing is thrown away. We ate the top and the filling, and it was delicious! But that just doesn’t make a pretty picture.
Anyhow, so here’s what you’re going to need:
For the “Sofrito”:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup oil from your tuna can
2 small onions, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
3 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp Pimenton or Sweet Paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian parsley, minced
500 g good quality tin tuna
20 anchovy stuffed olives halved (if you can’t find those, pimento stuffed olives will do)
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced (optional)
For the dough:
600 g flour
30 g instant yeast
300 ml warm water
12 tbsp oil, from your sofrito (this will give the dough a fantastic color)
2 pinches of salt
1 egg, beaten
Preheat the oven to 220 C (415 F). In a large frying pan, heat the oil over low heat. Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes, until just softening. Add the red pepper, cook for another 5 minutes. Add the green pepper, tomatoes, pimenton, salt and raise the heat to medium. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn’t brown or burn.
When the veggies are very soft, strain the vegetables and reserve the oil. You’re going to use it for the dough. Let them cool a bit and add the parsley, tuna, black peppers and olives.
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. In the bowl of an electric mixer, add your flour. Make a well in the center and add the yeast water. With the hook attachment, mix on low until just incorporated. Add the oil and salt and mix on medium speed to incorporate, and then mix on low for about 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and glossy.
Let the dough rest in the bowl, covered with a dish towel for about an hour.
Dust a clean work surface with flour, and place your dough on top. Cut in half, one is going to be the top and the other the bottom. From the one that you are going to make the top out of, cut off a small plum sized piece, and reserve for later.
Roll out your bottom (larger piece) into a rectangle that is 2mm thick (or circle if that is the dish you are using) to fit your baking dish. Grease your baking dish with some oil, and place the rolled out dough into it. The dough should hang over the sides. Add the tuna mix, and top with the sliced egg.
Now roll out your top dough, 2mm thick. Cut the over hanging edges, and fold over and press to seal. Then make a hole in the center to let the steam out, and decorate with the remaining pieces of dough. Glaze the top with egg wash.
Bake in a 200 C (400 F) oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
Let cool slightly before serving.
From my kitchen to yours,
Carla
Expat Chef in Barcelona 