Omar Allibhoy’s Empanada Gallega

Omar Allibhoy reveals the secret to cooking a quality empanada at home. The filling has peppers, olive oil, bay leaves, egg, onion and tuna in. This rustic dish is a perfect snack!

Ingredients

For the dough:
  • 0.5 kg of plain flour
  • 100 ml white wine
  • 100 ml of whole milk
  • 100 olive oil from the filling
  • 1 egg to brush while baking
For the filling:
  • Oil from the tuna tins
  • 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 red peppers
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 tins of tuna in oil
  • 3 boiled eggs
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method

Drain the oil from the tins of tuna (reserve the tuna for later) and pour into a pot with the olive oil, thinly sliced red peppers and onions and the bay leaf. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Drain the oil from the filling and mix it with the flour in the electric mixer until crumbly in texture, then add the warm milk and mix together for 10 minutes on minimum speed. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour.

Hard boil the eggs for 6 minutes, cool down, peel and roughly chop. Reserve for later.

With the help of a rolling ping and a bit of flour use the rested dough to make a rectangular sheet of about 3mm thickness and place on a baking tray over greaseproof paper.

We are going to fold this dough in half with the filling in the middle. Spread the filling on one half of the sheet and leave without filling 2 fingers thick from each edge of the dough so that we can pinch and close the sides.

First, place the chopped eggs on the bottom, then the tuna and finish off with the cooked peppers and onions mix so that baking juices run down into the tuna and egg and allow a crispy bottom, which we would not achieve if it was too wet inside.

Fold the edges of the dough over each other and seal them by pinching them with your fingers. Make a little hole in the middle for the steam to escape or just pierce it throughout with a fork before baking.

Bake in the oven at 190 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush it with egg and finish it off at 200 degrees for the last 10 minutes. You can enjoy it freshly baked, warm the next day or even cold. It freezes very well and it can be reheated so is very flexible!

Ingredients

For the dough:
  • 0.5 kg of plain flour
  • 100 ml white wine
  • 100 ml of whole milk
  • 100 olive oil from the filling
  • 1 egg to brush while baking
For the filling:
  • Oil from the tuna tins
  • 100ml of extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 red peppers
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3 tins of tuna in oil
  • 3 boiled eggs
  • Salt and pepper to season

Method

Drain the oil from the tins of tuna (reserve the tuna for later) and pour into a pot with the olive oil, thinly sliced red peppers and onions and the bay leaf. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes.

Drain the oil from the filling and mix it with the flour in the electric mixer until crumbly in texture, then add the warm milk and mix together for 10 minutes on minimum speed. Let the dough rest for at least 1 hour.

Hard boil the eggs for 6 minutes, cool down, peel and roughly chop. Reserve for later.

With the help of a rolling ping and a bit of flour use the rested dough to make a rectangular sheet of about 3mm thickness and place on a baking tray over greaseproof paper.

We are going to fold this dough in half with the filling in the middle. Spread the filling on one half of the sheet and leave without filling 2 fingers thick from each edge of the dough so that we can pinch and close the sides.

First, place the chopped eggs on the bottom, then the tuna and finish off with the cooked peppers and onions mix so that baking juices run down into the tuna and egg and allow a crispy bottom, which we would not achieve if it was too wet inside.

Fold the edges of the dough over each other and seal them by pinching them with your fingers. Make a little hole in the middle for the steam to escape or just pierce it throughout with a fork before baking.

Bake in the oven at 190 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush it with egg and finish it off at 200 degrees for the last 10 minutes. You can enjoy it freshly baked, warm the next day or even cold. It freezes very well and it can be reheated so is very flexible!