Tuna patties

Miriam, author of El Invitado de Invierno , brings us today a truly delicious traditional recipe: dumplings stuffed with tuna with olives, hard-boiled egg and tomato . I assure you that it is worth preparing them at home, success is assured!

Empanadas are a homemade classic that should not die. I know that some of you consider it old and childish, but open your mind a little and get rid of prejudices for even a little while. So that you don't get scared, we cook them in the oven, as if they were Argentine empanadas, because they absorb less fat than by the traditional method of frying them. And they are equally succulent.

If we also make the empanadilla dough at home, the result will be fantastic . And with all the gadgets we have in our kitchens today, the whole process is much easier and faster, from mixing the dough to cutting it and forming the dumplings. Yes.

We will also prepare a delicious classic stuffing of canned tuna with olives. That if you find it too classic, you are very much in charge of filling this magnificent dough with whatever you want. I am not going to judge you.

Tellier empanada molds and Bérard olive wood round board .

Ingredients (for about 24 medium empanadas)

Stuffed with tuna, hard-boiled egg and olives:

• 2 boiled eggs
• 120g tuna in oil or in marinade, well drained
• 1 handful of pitted green olives
• Tomato sauce to bind the whole

Homemade empanada dough:

• 110g of white wine
• 60g of melted lard*
• 50g of olive oil
• 340g of pastry flour
• ½ tsp. of salt
• 1 additional egg to paint

*You can easily replace all the lard with the same amount of olive oil.

Elaboration

To organize ourselves better, if we want we can prepare the filling the day before and store it in an airtight container .

Stuffed

1. Cook the eggs for 10 minutes in boiling salted water, let cool and reserve.
2. Drain the tuna from its liquid and flake it with a fork. Add the chopped eggs and chopped olives.
3. We bind everything with a little good tomato sauce. We booked.

dumpling dough

1. Melt the lard and mix it with the oil in a bowl .
2. Add the salt and the white wine, add the flour and mix the whole, by hand or with a kitchen robot , until obtaining a homogeneous mass that should not stick to the hands. We must avoid kneading it too much.
3. We wrap the dough in plastic and let it rest for at least 1 hour so that the gluten relaxes and we can stretch it comfortably. This is obligatory.

assembly and firing

1. We take half of the rested dough and roll it out on the counter. We hardly need to flour it, because it is a fairly fatty dough.
2. With a 10-12cm cutter we cut circles of pasta. We turn the cutter over and place a disc on top; We put a teaspoon of filling and close the mold , squeezing well. We remove the formed empanada and store it in a freezer bag, because this dough dries out a lot.
3. We proceed in this way until all the dough circles are finished. The cuttings can be stretched again, but it is convenient to let them rest for a while so that they relax.
4. Place all the empanadas on a baking tray lined with baking paper. We beat the egg and paint them.
5. Bake the dumplings for 25 minutes in the oven at 180°, with heat above and below.

• If instead of baking we prefer to fry the dumplings, we put plenty of oil to heat in a deep frying pan (a pot for boiling and frying is also ideal). When it is very hot, fry the dumplings two by two and transfer them to a dish with kitchen paper when they are golden brown.

Tellier empanada molds

Make these homemade tuna dumplings for an appetizer or spring meal and drink them with a good white wine. You will see everything in another color.