Empanada gallega

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gplain flour
• 250 mlwarm water
• 10 gdried yeast
• 1 teaspoonsugar
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 120 mlolive oil
• 1egg

Sofrito filling

• 3large onions, thinly sliced
• 2red peppers, in strips
• 1green pepper, in strips
• 4garlic cloves, sliced
• 150 mlolive oil
• 2 teaspoonssweet paprika
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• black pepper

Fish

• 400 gtinned tuna in oil, drained
• or 400 g cooked salt cod, flaked
• or 400 g cooked pork or chicken

To finish

• 1egg, beaten, for brushing

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a wide pan. Use a generous amount of the oil. Add the sliced onions and peppers. Cook them over a low steady heat. Give them a full forty minutes. Stir them well every few minutes. They should soften and sweeten completely. Add the sliced garlic near the end. Stir in the paprika off the heat. Paprika burns instantly in a hot pan.
2. Season it with salt and black pepper. Tip it into a sieve over a bowl. Let the oil drain off thoroughly. Keep that oil, since it is full of flavour. Brush it over the pastry later. Let the sofrito cool completely.
3. Flake the drained tuna into the cooled sofrito. Fold it through the sofrito gently. Do not break it down into a paste. Salt cod or cooked meat work the same way. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. Warm the water to just above body temperature.
4. Stir the yeast and sugar into it. Let it stand for five minutes until it foams. Put the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeasted water, the olive oil and the egg. Bring it together into a soft dough. Knead it for a good ten minutes. It should become smooth and elastic.
5. Put it in an oiled bowl and cover it. Let it rise for about an hour. It should roughly double in size. Divide the dough into two pieces. Make one slightly larger than the other.
6. Roll the larger one out thinly. Line an oiled baking tray with it. Let it overhang the edges freely. Roll the second piece for the lid. Filling it is quick enough work. Spread the cooled filling over the base. Spread it right out to the edges. Keep the layer even throughout. Do not pile it up in the middle.
7. Lay the second sheet over the filling. Press the edges together with the overhang. Roll the edge over onto itself. Crimp it with your fingers all round. Cut a hole in the centre of the lid. Make it about two centimetres across. Baking it takes about fifty minutes. Brush the top with the beaten egg. Heat the oven to 190C before baking.
8. Bake it for about fifty minutes. The top should be deep golden brown. Lift a corner to check the underside. Let it cool for at least twenty minutes. Serving it is done warm or cold. Cut it into squares or wedges. It keeps three days if wrapped.

Technique

• A twelfth-century carving on the Portico da Gloria at Santiago de Compostela is often cited as the earliest depiction of the pie, though that reading is an interpretation rather than a certainty; what is certain is that the dish appears in medieval Galician records.
• The Galician empanada is a large flat two-crust pie cut into squares, quite different in form from the individual folded turnovers of Latin America.
• The sofrito must be drained of its oil before it goes into the pie, since oily filling makes a soggy base, and the drained oil is then used in the dough or brushed over the crust.

Substitutions

• Salt cod, cooked pork, chicken or octopus all work in place of tuna.
• The reserved sofrito oil used in the dough gives a much better flavoured crust.

Variations

• Empanada de zamburinas, made with scallops, is a Galician speciality.
• Some bakers use a maize flour dough rather than wheat.
• The pie is taken on picnics and to festivals across Galicia.

History

Recorded in Galicia since the Middle Ages; a carved scene at Santiago de Compostela cathedral is often cited as its earliest depiction.

Frequently asked questions

What is Empanada gallega?

Empanada gallega is a bread & pastry from Spain: flat baked pie filled with tuna, peppers, onion. Recorded in Galicia since the Middle Ages; a carved scene at Santiago de Compostela cathedral is often cited as its earliest depiction.

How long does Empanada gallega take to make?

Empanada gallega takes 45 minutes plus rising of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one large pie, 10 slices. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Empanada gallega?

Yes, within limits. Salt cod, cooked pork, chicken or octopus all work in place of tuna. The reserved sofrito oil used in the dough gives a much better flavoured crust.

What is the most important thing to get right in Empanada gallega?

Flake the drained tuna into the cooled sofrito. Fold it through the sofrito gently. Do not break it down into a paste. Salt cod or cooked meat work the same way. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. Warm the water to just above body temperature.