Empanada Gallega

“There are only four questions of value in life… What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only love.”
~ Don Juan DeMarco

Why do thousands each year pack a backpack, put on their walking shoes and head for the Camino de Santiago?  Isn’t the answer also love?  Some are looking to find what to love in themselves.  Some are seeking to find what to love in life.  Some are looking for the source of all love, and some to show love for the one who loved them.  It was my greatest pleasure to meet so many of these people from all over the world who walked separately and yet together making the camino one of the most positive experiences in the world.

And yet, there was rain.  It rained three quarters of the way to Santiago.  We felt every step and sometimes the rain felt like a grim pilgrim who always arrived when you had the least strength to put up with him.  It was raining the day we hobbled into and got our first look at green Galicia.  Even the clouds and the gray couldn’t dim its beauty.  Mist hung to the mountains and increased the feeling that we had entered a new region, the last we would transverse.

It was here that I would get my first taste of Empanada Gallega.  This Spanish meat pie was just what we needed to get us to our next to last stop.  Empanada Gallega is filled with tuna, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes and incased in a savory crust.  I have to admit my husband calls me out every time about just how unloving I was at this stop.  When we arrived to the café, I order a slice of empanada and went to a table outside to eat.  My husband soon came up to me with only a drink.  I asked him if he was eating and he said he saw how big the slices were so he thought he just eat some of mine to which I replied, “Big mistake.”  I was hungry!!!  Oh, he got his bites but begrudgingly so.  Hey, none of us are perfect.

I never forgot how wonderful that empanada was and have loved being able to make it in my own home.  It’s not very difficult and is a showstopper on the table.  I do hope you give it a try.  I’m including  a video that I watched that taught me how to prepare the dough and the filling.  Even though it is in Spanish, I think it would be very helpful to watch before you attempt this recipe.  This recipe isn’t difficult but seeing it done from start to finish is very helpful.  I didn’t use her recipe, but I did use her technique.

Trying to get it to be exactly what I remembered.

Ingredients ( Serves 9)

FOR THE DOUGH
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
3 cloves
½ cup sunflower oil
½ cup olive oil
5 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant dry yeast
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp of sugar
1 ½ cups warm water

Instructions
Sauté the onion, garlic in the sunflower and olive oil combined over low heat until onion is wilted. Strain the oil and reserve it separately. Place the sautéed onions and garlic in a small bowl to use later.

In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let proof for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the water mixture to the flour. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gradually incorporate ½ cup of the reserved oil, kneading in about 2 tablespoons at time. Save the remaining oil to use in the filling. Continue to knead the dough until you’re tired. Kidding! Knead until the dough is smooth elastic. If you press the dough with your thumb and the imprint bounces back the dough is sufficiently kneaded. If the dough remains indented, more kneading is required. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let sit in a warm spot until doubled. Continue with empanada filling.

FOR THE FILLING

1 large green bell pepper
1 large red bell pepper
Oil reserved from the dough
Reserved onion and garlic from the dough recipe
3 cans high quality tuna
2 cups homemade tomato sauce or 1 15oz can of tomato puree.
Salt to taste
Ground pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a skillet, sauté the peppers in the reserved oil, covered, until tender. Add the reserved onion and garlic, tuna and tomato puree and cook uncovered until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Roll each to 10 x 15 inches. Place one piece on a greased cookie sheet the same size. Spread on the filling, then cover with the other piece of dough, rolling up the edges to seal. Make several slits in the dough and decorate if desired.

Let sit 20 minutes in a warm place. Brush with the egg, and then bake at 375 in the lower third of your oven for 30 minutes or until dark golden brown. Let rest at least 10 minutes (best at room temperature) and then cut into squares.

¡Enjoy!

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Empanada Gallega

Empanada Gallega is a Spanish pie where a beautiful savory crust holds a filling of tuna, tomato, bell peppers and onions. ¡Que Rico!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Spanish

Author www.sanpasqualskitchen.com

Ingredients

• FOR THE DOUGH
• 2 medium onions thinly sliced
• 3 cloves
• ½ cup sunflower oil
• ½ cup olive oil
• 5 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp instant dry yeast
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 ½ cups warm water
• FOR THE FILLING
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1 large red bell pepper
• Oil reserved from the dough
• Reserved onion and garlic from the dough recipe
• 3 cans high quality tuna
• 2 cups homemade tomato sauce or 1 15oz can of tomato puree.
• Salt to taste
• Ground pepper
• 1 egg lightly beaten

Instructions

• For the dough:
• Sauté the onion, garlic in the sunflower and olive oil combined over low heat until onion is wilted. Strain the oil and reserve it separately. Place the sautéed onions and garlic in a small bowl to use later.
• In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and let proof for 5 to 10 minutes. Add the water mixture to the flour. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gradually incorporate ½ cup of the reserved oil, kneading in about 2 tablespoons at time. Save the remaining oil to use in the filling. Continue to knead the dough until you’re tired. Kidding! Knead until the dough is smooth elastic. If you press the dough with your thumb and the imprint bounces back the dough is sufficiently kneaded. If the dough remains indented, more kneading is required. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let sit in a warm spot until doubled. Continue with empanada filling.
• For the filling:
• In a skillet, sauté the peppers in the reserved oil, covered, until tender. Add the reserved onion and garlic, tuna and tomato puree and cook uncovered until thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Roll each to 10 x 15 inches. Place one piece on a greased cookie sheet the same size. Spread on the filling, then cover with the other piece of dough, rolling up the edges to seal. Make several slits in the dough and decorate if desired.
• Let sit 20 minutes in a warm place. Brush with the egg, and then bake at 375 in the lower third of your oven for 30 minutes or until dark golden brown. Let rest at least 10 minutes (best at room temperature) and then cut into squares.

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