Tuna Empanadas

I grew up eating empanadas, my mum would make them every so often on Sundays as a little snack or ‘entrée’ before our meal. Even if they are not part of our culture she must’ve learnt about them somewhere and made them once and it stuck. They are parcels of joy.

I’m not entirely sure how they got their tuna filling, whether it was a recipe from someone else or if my mum made it up, but it uses basic pantry ingredients you should have at home - with the exception of puff pastry dough.

They are incredibly easy to make and are delicious savoury parcels.

In the recipe I call to crimp the edges with a fork, but if you’re up for a challenge, try sealing the edges with the repulgue technique. Check the how-to video on my instagram @chlo_eat

Repulgue technique used to seal edges.

Tip: To make these vegetarian/vegan, substitute the tuna for aubergine- cook it separately in oil until it goes soft, and fold it in as you would the tuna.

prep /cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 8-10 portions

Ingredients 

230g puff pastry dough, or 1 round/rectangle sheet

1 small onion, sliced thinly

3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly

½ tsp red chili flakes

Pinch of ground cumin

½ tsp dried oregano 

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

¼ cup water 

100g tin of tuna, drained and shredded 

¼ cup milk (dairy, or non dairy)

Oil, salt, pepper

Method

1. In an oiled pot on medium high heat, add onions, sweat them down until they soften. Add the garlic and spices, and cook for a few seconds- until the spices bloom and the garlic starts to lose its spicy fragrance. 

2. Add in the tomato paste and cook down until the colour changes and goes darker.  Deglaze with balsamic vinegar, and reduce fully. 

3. Pour in the water, scraping the bottom of the pot. Turn the heat off and add in the tuna, mix until everything is incorporated, season.  The mixture shouldn’t be saucy, but more paste-like. Cool it down completely, mix in the minced olives. 

4. Cut out 10cm rounds of puff pastry. Place 1 tbsp of filling in the middle of the pastry round, take a little water onto your finger and spread it onto the edges of the round, pinch the pastry edges together to seal the parcel- taking out as much air as possible.  With a fork press down onto the edges to completely seal the empanada. Brush the empanadas with milk and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, into the fridge for 15 minutes. (*Here is where you can freeze them too)

5. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 220°C (fan)

6. When the oven comes up to temperature, put the baking sheet into the oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown all over.

*If you would like to freeze them, lay them out on a parchment lined sheet spreading them out so they don’t touch each other, place them into the freezer for an hour, then you can transfer them into a bag. They keep for 3 months, and can be baked from frozen - they might take a few minutes longer.