Tuna Empanadas Recipe – How to Make Tuna Pastries

Here’s how to make my favorite tuna empanadas. You’ll find below the recipes for both the empanada dough and the tuna filling. They are absolutely delicious and addictive!

Tuna Empanadas

TUNA FILLING INGREDIENTS
Makes 14 empanadas

2 cans of tuna with its water
1 cup of chopped onions
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
1/3 cup of water
2 Tablespoons of raisins
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
½ cup of green olives in slices
½ teaspoon of cumin
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon Salt

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE TUNA FILLING
1. Heat the oil in a frying pan on about medium heat.
2. Add the chopped onions and sauté until they are soft and transparent, this takes about 5 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes stirring with the onions and oil.
4. Add the 2 cans of tuna with the water it comes with, and sauté for 2 more minutes
5. Add the salt, cumin and garlic powder and stir well.
6. Add the water and when the juices begin to bubble add the raisins; let it simmer until most of the liquid begins to evaporate.
7. Add the sliced green olives and the 2 chopped hard boiled eggs, mix well and turn off the heat. Blend the egg yolks into the mixture until most of the yolk disappears into the filling, this helps absorb any remaining liquid in the tuna filling.
8. Let the filling cool.

EMPANADA DOUGH INGREDIENTS
(Makes 24 discs)

¼ cup of corn starch
2 teaspoons of baking powder

1 egg
½ cup of water
½ cup of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of flour

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE EMPANADA DOUGH
1. Combine corn starch and baking powder in a small bowl, this will be used to make the layers in the dough, so set it aside for later.
2. Combine water and vegetable oil in a measuring cup.
3. In a medium bowl, add the egg and I beat it with a whisk.
4. Add to the beaten egg the water and oil mixture prepared in step 2.
5. Add a teaspoon of salt to the beaten egg, water and oil and stir.
6. Add the 3 cups of flour 1 cup at a time: first cup is mixed in by whisking, second cup is mixed by stirring with a spoon, and finally the last cup is added by kneading it until it becomes a dough.
7. Once the dough is formed, layers can now be created: placed the dough on a floured surface and with a rolling pin, roll it out into a rectangle of about 15 inches X 11 inches, continuously flouring the surface and the dough.
8. Once the rectangle is formed, add the corn starch mixture prepared in step 1 onto the surface making sure it is all covered.
9. Fold the dough from the bottom edge, about 2 inches at a time until you reach the upper edge, and then bring the upper edge down onto the flat roll and seal the edges gently.
10. Fold the two ends of the roll inward creating 3 more layers, and I press it together.
11. Add more flour to the surface and the dough. With the rolling pin, roll it out into another rectangle of about 10 inches X 8 inches.
12. Cut this dough in half and work with one half at time to make the actual empanada discs.
13. Adding more flour, roll out one half of the dough into a rectangle, until the dough is about an eighth of an inch thick and 12 inches X 16 inches.
14. Sprinkle some more flour onto the dough, and cut the dough into discs, disc mold should around 4.5 to 5.5 inches in diameter. When placing the discs of dough on a dish, sprinkle flour between each disc so they don’t stick together.
15. With the scraps of dough, bring it together and continue rolling it out to make more discs until all scraps are used.
16. Continue the same process with the other half of the dough that was cut and set aside, adding flour, rolling it out and making more discs.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING THE EMPANADAS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (180° C)
2. Take a disc at time and brush all along the edges with water, this helps to seal the empanada
3. Place about 2 to 3 teaspoons of filling onto each disc.
4. Fold the disc over the filling and press the edges tight to make sure it seals.
5. Make an additional seal by folding and pressing the dough all along the edges.
6. Brush each empanada with beaten egg.
7. Bake for about 30 minutes slightly browned.
8. Serve and enjoy!