Canned bonito pie

How to make Galician tuna empanada . If we talk about Galician empanada, in my opinion, the empanada par excellence would, without a doubt, be the empanada de bonito .

About empanada in Galicia, there is much to say, fillings and types of dough make this dish one of the most heterogeneous. On the one hand, the most classic wheat-based dough, on the other, corn, the ones that are the most flaky or the most bread-like, endless options, almost as many as the hands that prepare it.

When we talk about fillers, things get even more complicated. From the famous octopus empanada  , with  raxo or loin , the inexpensive sardine empanada, the special of  zamburiñas , with  tuna belly  or  chicken , … even as a dessert, like this apple empanada . .. It would be a start and not stop talking about fillings of the popular Galician empanada .  

What is indisputable is that, among the most classic and traditional options, bonito empanada occupies an exceptional position. But it does not end here. A nice empanada in the Rías Baixas area is not the same as in the Lugo area, not even within the same region, and even from the same council .

You can take more or less onion, garlic or not, boiled egg or not, tomato in sauce or fresh, even without tomato. The options are many but today I wanted to bring you the recipe for the bonito empanada that is prepared in my usual home.

Among the ingredients the omnipresent and obligatory onion, no garlic, red and green peppers, tomato sauce, homemade if possible and a quality Bonito de Norte.

It is a very juicy empanada thanks mainly to the presence of tomato sauce . As always I have used the empanada dough recipe that you can find on the blog. This is a tandem of sure success, you will tell me.

Preparation of canned tuna filling

1. We start by preparing the filling so that we can use the drained oil for the empanada dough and that it is completely cold when assembling the empanada.
2. Cut the julienne onion and diced the peppers. Fry the vegetables with a splash of olive oil until they are soft.
3. We add the tomato sauce , integrate and continue cooking the mixture for 5 minutes.
4. Add the beautifully crumbled and drained oil, mix well and turn off the heat. We will let the filling cool down before using it. While it cools, drain the oil that it has. This oil is the one that we can use to make the dough.
5. As always, this type of empanada has the empanada dough that my grandmother Lucrecia prepared and that you have on the blog. If you want to make it homemade, you just have to stop by there.

Preparation of the pie. Baking and final presentation

1. We divide the empanada dough into two parts. We reserve one of them for the top cover.
2. We spread the first half of the dough on a floured surface, with the help of a rolling pin. We stretch the dough until it covers the surface of the oven tray. We will be left with a thickness of about 4 or 5 mm.
3. We place the stretched dough on the oven tray and cover with the filling. We must leave a perimeter of 3 or 4 cm. Unfilled. This part is what will serve to seal the empanada.
4. We cover the filling with the second empanada dough previously stretched. We seal the perimeter of the pie by rolling the dough on the top with that of the base.
5. We paint the empanada with beaten egg and open a “fireplace” that serves as an exhaust for gases during baking.
6. With the oven previously heated to 180ºC, we bake the empanada for 45 minutes. We should always cook it with heat up and down and placing the tray in the middle of the oven.
7. We remove the empanada from the oven and wait for it to temper before enjoying it.

If you do not want to miss a detail on how to prepare this canned tuna empanada recipe , click on the photos in the step by step.