Empanada Gallega

Galician Tuna, Pepper and Onion Pie

A wide, flat pie with a thin crust top and bottom and a filling that is mostly slow-cooked onion and red pepper, with tuna and chopped egg folded through. It is cut in squares and eaten at room temperature, which makes it the natural food of bars, bakeries, picnics and train journeys.

The recipe read makes a dough of flour, olive oil, white wine, water and sweet paprika, rests it while the filling cools, and bakes the pie at 200°C for about 45 minutes. The filling is onion, red pepper, tomato, tinned tuna and hard-boiled egg.

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 50 ml olive oil
  • 250 g onions, thinly sliced
  • 350 g red peppers, deseeded and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 200 g tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 300 g tinned tuna in olive oil, drained weight
  • 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
  • Fine sea salt

For the dough

  • 450 g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt
  • 100 ml olive oil
  • 75 ml dry white wine
  • 75 ml water
  • 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Method

  1. Cook the filling Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Cook the onions and peppers with a pinch of salt for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft and sweet. Add the garlic for 1 minute, then the tomatoes, and cook for 10 minutes until thick and no longer watery. Cool for 30 minutes, then fold in the flaked tuna and chopped egg.
  2. Make the dough Mix the flour, baking powder, paprika and salt in a bowl. Add the oil, wine and water and bring together into a soft, smooth dough, kneading for 1 to 2 minutes. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
  3. Assemble Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Divide the dough in two, one piece slightly larger. Roll the larger piece on a floured sheet of baking paper to a rectangle about 3 mm thick and slide it, on its paper, onto the baking tray. Spread the filling over it, leaving a 2 cm border.
  4. Seal Roll the second piece to fit, lay it over the filling and fold the bottom edge up over the top, pinching to seal. Cut a small hole in the middle to let steam out and brush with beaten egg.
  5. Bake Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the crust is deep golden and firm. Cool on the tray for at least 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The filling must be cool and fairly dry before it goes on the dough, or the base will be soggy.

It is better a few hours after baking than straight from the oven.

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