Originally from Galicia, Spain, the empanada gallega is a savory, double crust pie filled with fish, onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers. There are many different versions, some with green onions, olives, tuna, shellfish etc… This recipe is the basic Argentinean version my grandma makes. This year she felt like making an empanada gallega for our Christmas dinner, we had leftovers for three days afterwards! It’s a king of a pie.
Empanada Gallega Recipe from grandma Ofelia
Serving suggestion!
- Pie dough for a deep 9inch cake pan, bottom and top
- 400 to 500 grams of canned tuna, depending on your taste and what you’ve got
- 1 yellow onion
- A small bunch of green onions
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 tomatoes
- 100 grams of pitted olives
- Saffron or packaged paella condiment
- An egg or two and one yolk seperated (optional)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter your pan well and place one layer of crust into it, making sure that some dough overlaps over the edge.
- Chop onions, olives, tomatoes, and bell pepper. Heat olive oil in a large pan and sauté onions. Add bell pepper and cook for a few minutes. Add saffron or seasoning and then tomatoes and cook for several minutes until tomatoes have completely come undone and some of their juices have evaporated. Turn off your burner and add the tuna and then the olives. If the mixture has too much liquid add an egg or two to help keep it all together. Season with salt and pepper to taste, the filling should be plenty salty from the tuna and olives.
- Pour filling into pan and top with the second dough layer. Press edges to seal and twist to make a decorative edge. Brush the top with an egg yolk and place in oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, until golden.
