Empanadillas

Ingredients

• 16empanadilla pastry discsstore-bought; alternatively make dough from flour, water, oil and salt
• 9⅔ ozWheat flourfor homemade dough instead of pastry discs
• ⅔ cupwaterlukewarm, for the dough, add gradually
• 2⅔ tbspolive oilfor dough and filling; plenty more if frying
• 1 tspsaltfor dough, cooking water and filling
• 10½ oztunadrained and flaked with a fork
• 3eggshard-boiled, finely chopped, for the filling
• ¾ cuptomato saucefried tomato sauce, add by the spoonful until the filling is juicy but not runny
• 1onionthinly sliced and sautéed
• 3½ ozolivesvery finely chopped, for the filling (optional)
• 1eggsbeaten, or yolk only, for brushing

Method

1. Make the doughIf you're making your own dough, mix the flour and salt, work in the olive oil, then add the lukewarm water a little at a time. Knead until smooth, cover and leave to rest for 30 to 60 minutes. Skip this step if you're using store-bought pastry discs.
2. Hard-boil and chop the eggsBoil the eggs in salted water for 10 to 12 minutes until hard, let them cool, then peel and chop them finely.
3. Sauté the onionSlice the onion thinly and sauté it in a little olive oil with a pinch of salt for about 5 minutes.
4. Make the tuna fillingAdd the drained, fork-flaked tuna to the onion and stir in the tomato sauce a spoonful at a time until the filling is juicy but not runny. Add the very finely chopped olives if you like. Let everything cook together briefly and season with salt.
5. Add eggs and cool the fillingFold in the chopped eggs and let the filling cool completely.
6. Roll out and cut the doughRoll the homemade dough out thinly on a floured surface and cut out rounds of about 12 cm with a glass or cutter; store-bought discs can go straight in.
7. Fill and sealPlace a spoonful of filling in the centre of each round without overfilling, fold the pastry over into a half-moon and press the edges firmly shut with a fork.
8. Arrange on tray and glazeLay the empanadillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush them with beaten egg or just the yolk.
9. Bake or fryBake at 355 °F for about 10 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Alternatively, fry them in plenty of hot olive oil and drain on kitchen paper.

Tips and variations

Instead of baking, you can fry the empanadillas in hot olive oil for an extra-crisp shell. For a change of filling, try leek with béchamel, nutmeg and Emmental in a butter dough; a vegetable mix of peppers, courgette, carrot, leek, spinach, green asparagus, garlic and pimentón; or chorizo and cheese in puff pastry, dusted with pimentón and baked at 220 °C. For a vegan version, use the vegetable filling, make the dough from flour, water, olive oil and salt with no butter or egg, and brush with olive oil instead of egg. For breakfast, fill pizza dough with scrambled egg, Manchego and chives and bake at 210 °C; these freeze well. Serve the empanadillas as a tapa on a big board in the middle of the table so everyone can help themselves.