This recipe is inspired by the Spanish empanada de atún or tuna empanada for you and I. Tuna is sauteed with tomato paste, onion and bell pepper, topped with mayo for extra creaminess (not traditional I know, but delicious!), wrapped in a spring roll (or phyllo) pastry and baked. Light and crispy this makes for a great sharing platter snack or appetizer. Serve with your favourite salad greens and vinaigrette for a light lunch.
Recipe
Makes: 5 | Time: 40min (prep: 15-20 min)
Ingredients
Tuna filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated
- Pinch of salt
- 1 can tuna, drained
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp pitted black olives, chopped (optional)
Other
- 5 spring roll wrappers (you can also use phyllo pastry)
- Olive oil to coat
Method
Make the filling
- Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Finely dice the onion and pepper and sauté in the pan with a pinch of salt until the onions are translucent (about 5min).
- Add tomato paste and cook for 5min, until it becomes a deep brown-red.
- Grate garlic, add to the pan and cook for 20sc. until fragrant.
- Drain tuna, add to the pan and mix well.
- Chop olives (if using).
- Off the heat add mayonnaise and olives (optional). Taste and adjust seasoning.
Wrap and bake
- Pre-heat your oven to 180°C (355°F).
- Place 1 spring roll wrapper on your work surface and brush with olive oil (picture 1).
- Grab your filling and roll the parcel:
- Place 1 heaping tsp of filling in the bottom right corner of your wrapper (picture 3).
- Spread lightly and roll the wrapper over the filling from left to right (picture 4).
- Tuck in the bottom of the wrapper (picture 5) and fold upwards horizontally (picture 6).
- If you have any unfilled wrapper towards the top, fold back down over the filling (picture 7).
- Close the wrapper, rolling from left to right (picture 8).
- Brush with olive oil.
- Place parcels on a baking paper lined baking sheet.
- Bake in the oven for 18 to 20min until lightly golden and crispy.
- Serve as is or with Greek yogurt or mayo. You can also serve the parcels with a simple salad for a light lunch (I then recommend serving 4 to 5 parcels per person).
- Enjoy!
Substitutions
I suggest here some possible substitutions to adapt the parcels to your preferences, diet and ingredients available to you.
| Recipe components | Possible substitutions* |
| Black olives, onions and green pepper | Switch up the vegetable filling to your liking, keeping a similar ratio of vegetables to tuna. Possible substitutions include: • Green olives • Red and/ or yellow bell peppers • Peas |
| Spring roll wrappers | Adjust the fold and bake according the pastry you use: • Phyllo pastry for a similar light crispy crust • Any other pastry (puff, shortcrust, etc.), in which case simply fold filling in a half-moon shape like an empanada or calzone and bake to packet instructions. |
Country
Spain
Spain
The Global Homecook 