Empanada Rápida de Atún
El Domingo y La Sobremesa: Sunday Rituals & The Lingering Table
A tin of oil-packed tuna, a cold sheet of puff pastry, and the plain fact that on a Tuesday night, nobody has hours to wrestle with yeasted dough. This version relies on zaragallada, the savory foundation of Galician baking. First, we poach onions and peppers until jammy, then harvest their paprika-stained oil to paint the crust. Next, we hit the tuna with a splash of sherry vinegar, replicating the acidic bite of traditional escabeche. Slide the half-sheet pan into the oven until the egg wash blisters, yielding a flaky bite with the sharp brine of a seaside tavern.
Before you start
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Ingredients
- extra virgin olive oil1/4 cup
- yellow onions2 large
- red bell pepper1 large
- Cubanelle pepper1 med
- garlic cloves2 med
- sweet Spanish paprika1 tsp
- smooth marinara sauce1/2 cup
- solid white albacore tuna in olive oil15 oz
- sherry vinegar1 tbsp
- eggs2 large
- all butter puff pastry1 lb
- egg1 large
Method
- 01
Poach the vegetables for the zaragallada.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the diced onions, red bell pepper, and Cubanelle pepper, seasoning generously with salt. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until completely soft and deeply sweet, about 20 to 25 minutes. Do not rush this; coax out their natural sugars.
- 02
Add the aromatics and tomato.
Stir in the garlic and sweet paprika, cooking for 1 minute until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes until the mixture is thick and jammy.
- 03
Harvest the infused oil.
Remove from the heat and transfer the vegetable mixture to a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Gently press the vegetables with a spatula to drain the bright orange oil into the bowl. Save this oil to paint the crust later, then let the drained vegetables cool completely to room temperature.
- 04
Mix the empanada filling.
Once the vegetables are completely cool, transfer them to a mixing bowl. Gently fold in the drained tuna, the sherry vinegar, and the chopped hard-boiled eggs, maintaining some meaty chunks of fish. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
- 05
Assemble the pastry.
Unroll one piece of puff pastry onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread the cooled tuna filling evenly over the dough, leaving a strict 1-inch border around all edges, then drape the second piece of pastry over the top.
- 06
Seal the edges and create a steam vent.
Fold the bottom edge of the pastry up and over the top edge, pinching and twisting tightly to create a braided seal, or crimp firmly with a fork. Using a sharp knife, cut a dime-sized hole in the dead center of the top crust to allow steam to escape so the bottom stays crisp.
- 07
Paint the crust and bake.
Whisk 1 tablespoon of the reserved orange vegetable oil into the beaten egg. Brush this wash over the entire surface and crimped edges of the empanada. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the pastry is puffed, deeply golden brown, and crisp. Let cool for 15 minutes before slicing into large squares.
Notes
Cool the filling completely before assembling.
The most common mistake is placing warm filling onto raw puff pastry. The ambient heat melts the butter in the dough prematurely, destroying the flakiness and guaranteeing a soggy bottom crust.
From Cook Spanish in America.