Empanadas de Atún (Argentinian Tuna Empanadas) #FoodieExtravaganza

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays or cook and bake together with the same ingredient or theme each month.

Posting day for #FoodieExtravaganza is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board!

This month Sue of Palatable Pastime is hosting this month's #FoodieExtravaganza. She asked us to share our favorite empanada recipes for National Empanada Day which is April 8th.  Here's the list of our empanada creations...

• Argentine Beef Empanadas from Making Miracles
• Beef Empanadas from Sneha's Recipe
• Easy Cornish Pasties from Food Lust People Love
• Easy Empanadas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Empanadas de Atún (Argentinian Tuna Empanadas) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Empanadas de Picadillo from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Indian Spiced Empanadas from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Spiced Potato Empanadas from Palatable Pastime

Empanadas de Atún 

I will say that my boys love empanadas. It's really one of the first things they were really excited to learn to make. Empanadas Mendocinas - made with meat, hard-boiled eggs, and capers - is the kind we made most often, as it's the family favorite. But we've also enjoyed Empanadas de Carne which has a decidedly more flaky crust. But the recipe I'm sharing is probably my personal favorite.

Ingredients makes 8

Empanada Dough

• 3 C all-purpose flour
• 1 T baking powder
• freshly ground salt
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 3/4 C milk
• 1/4 C water

Filling

• 2 tuna filets
• freshly ground salt
• freshly ground pepper
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
• olive oil
• 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/3 C sliced black olives
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t ground paprika
• 1 t dried oregano
• 1 egg, beaten for finishing empanadas

Chimichurri

• 1/4 C parsley
• 3 T vinegar (I prefer sherry vinegar)
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and pressed
• 2 T oregano leaves
• 1 t thyme leaves
• 2 t crushed red pepper
• 1/2 C olive oil
• freshly ground pepper, as needed
• freshly ground salt, as needed

Procedure

Empanada Dough
Stir all of the ingredients together to form a kneadable mass. Remove it to a floured work surface and knead until silky smooth, approximately 5 minutes. Add a little flour if it is too sticky. Cover it with a towel and let it rest at least 30 minutes. While the dough is resting, make the filling.

Filling

Preheat 400°F. Place tuna filets on a baking sheet. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Roast for 10 minutes. Let cool, then flake the fish with a fork.

In a large flat-bottomed pan, sauté sliced leeks and sliced black olives in a splash of olive oil until the leeks are translucent. Season with paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Add the flaked fish and stir till coated with oil and seasonings. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Chimichurri

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Process until smooth, drizzling in the oil until desired texture; season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and let stand for, at least 30 minutes. If you are making this ahead of time, place in a lidded jar and keep in the refrigerator. 

Empanadas
Preheat oven to 375°F. Cut the rested dough into 8 equal portions; you can certainly make smaller one. Lightly flour a work surface and roll each portion out into a 6- to 8-inch round.

Add about 1/4 cup of filling to the center of the pastry round, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Wet the edges with a finger dipped in water, fold over into a half moon and seal the edges with the tines of a fork or by rolling them up into a scalloped edge. Lay out on a baking sheet.

Brush tops with an egg beaten with a little water.

Place in the preheated oven. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until browned on top. Serve warm with chimichurri sauce on the side.

That's it for this month. Next month, I am hosting and I have invited the #FoodieExtravaganza bloggers to share their favorite pickle recipes ahead of International Pickle Week the third week in May. Stay tuned...