Keyword: Tomato, All Purpose Flour, Olives, Fresh Tuna
Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the Dough:
2 ½cupswhole wheat flour
1 ½cupsall-purpose flour
¾teaspoonkosher salt
¾cupextra virgin olive oil
¾cupwhite wine
For the Filling:
2tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
½red onionchopped
2garlic cloveschopped
1 14-ouncecan diced tomatoesor 1 pound fresh tomatoes if in season, seeded and chopped
1bay leaf
2teaspoonssmoked paprika
½teaspoonsalt
¼cuppitted green olivesquartered
10-12ouncesfresh tuna steak
3datesdiced
fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
Make the dough by combining the flours and salt. Pour in the wine and olive oil and mix until the dough comes together. Knead in the bowl until the flour is fully moistened, then wrap in plastic wrap and set aside while you prepare the filling.
In a saucepan, saute the onion and garlic and a pinch of salt in the olive oil for 8-10 minutes until softened. The salt helps the onions “sweat” and release their juices. Add the tomatoes and bay leaf and cook for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes start to get thickened. Stir in the paprika, olives and dates, then add the whole piece or pieces of tuna. Cover and let cook, turning the tuna once, about 12 minutes until the tuna is mostly cooked through.
Remove the tuna from the pan, but keep the heat on. When cool enough to handle, or using two forks, shred the tuna, leaving some small bite sized pieces, and return it to the pot. Stir and continue to cook just until the mixture is quite thick. It should not be watery at all, or the empanadas will be soggy. Taste and add more salt if needed, and a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper. Set aside to let cool slightly.
To assemble the empanadas, cut the dough in thirds and roll one piece out at a time on your work surface. It is quite oily, and should not need flour to keep it from sticking. Roll it quite thinly, about 1/8” if possible, then use a round 3” biscuit cutter to cut circles out. Take about a tablespoon of filling and place in the center of a round, then pinch the edges to seal. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat until you have used all the filling.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes
You can make these any size you like, and if you don’t have a large round cutter, its okay to use a knife to cut rounds shapes and be a little more rustic in the presentation. Larger sizes would be more appropriate for dinner sized servings, while the 3” cutter will produce smaller ones that would be great for hors d’oeuvres. These can be assembled and placed on the parchment lined baking sheet, then frozen. After they are totally frozen, store in a freezer gallon sized bag. Simply add 10 minutes onto the cooking time if cooking them directly from the freezer.