My friend Elisa sent me her friend’s grandmother’s recipe for these tuna turnovers that I remembered from my university years in Guadalajara, Jalisco. During Lent, bakeries would feature them on Friday.
Tuna Turnovers (Empanadas de Atún)
Tuna Turnovers are delicious and simple to make. You can also use the tuna as a taco filling or appetizer.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 1 large firm, ripe tomato finely chopped
- 1 small jar pimentos
- 3 pickled jalapeños finely chopped
- 25 pitted green olives finely chopped
- 20 capers finely chopped
- One 10-ounce package frozen peas
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds toasted
- 2 cans tuna
- 1 sheet puff pastry dough (½ package) thawed according to package directions
- Flour for dusting work surface
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Heat olive oil until rippling in a medium pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add tomato and cook for about 3 minutes. Add pimentos, pickled jalapeños, olives, capers, peas, and almonds stirring well to incorporate. Add tuna, breaking it up as you incorporate it. You probably will not need any salt. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Unfold puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and divide into six squares. You will fold the filled squares into triangles, so turn each square with a point facing you, like a diamond. Brush each square with some of the egg mixture, reserving some of the mixture to brush the tops of the pastries.
- Place ⅙ of the filling on half of each puff pastry. Fold the remaining pastry over the filling to make a triangle. Firmly crimp the edges with a fork so that the filling won't escape while baking. Brush pastries with the remaining egg mixture.
- Bake puff pastries on prepared baking sheet for 15 minutes or until golden.
Notes
I chop the jalapeños, olives, and capers in the food processor with pulse action so they do not become puréed.
Nutrition
Calories: 459kcalCarbohydrates: 31gProtein: 20gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 687mgPotassium: 398mgFiber: 5gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 805IUVitamin C: 24mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 3mg
