Tuna Empanada Galician style - Empanada gallega de atún

Empanadas are quite common on dinner tables all over the Hispanic world. in Spain they are usually baked as large pies and cut into squares and can be served as tapas. In Latin America, empanadas are small pies with different fillings. Originally empanadas came from the Spanish regions of Galicia & Leon but basically became popular all around the whole world. I had this Galician empanada when I went to Spain a couple of years ago and I had to recreate it over here as it was so good. It can be served either hot or cold. I used two sheets of pre-made pastry which makes things way easier. So give it a go and we're quite sure you will try it again! You will need.... 

• 2 ready to roll shortcrust pastry sheets
• 2 large or 3 medium red sweet peppers, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon pimentón dulce (sweet paprika)
• 1 teaspoon pimentón ahumado (smoked paprika)
• 2 cans tuna chunks (in oil), drained
• Small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• Handful green olives, stoned and chopped
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil mixed with a pinch paprika, for brushing on final empanada

How to...

1. Pour oil into a fry pan over medium heat and add in garlic. Cook it for 2 minutes, until golden. Then add in onion,pepper, paprikas, tomato paste, salt & pepper to taste and cook until onions and peppers are soft, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Take off the heat and let cool. Once cool, add in tuna, olives and parsley and mix well.
3. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C
4. Roll out the first pastry sheet and spread the tuna/veg mixture in the middle, leaving about one inch from the sides. Crumble the eggs on top and cover with the other pastry sheet. Seal the edges well with a fork and baste the top with the oil/paprika mixture and snip the empanada with scissors with in three or four places (so as steam can escape).
5. Bake for 25 minutes until reddish golden. Remove from the oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Zorza Gallega - Marinated Diced Pork Loin Galician Style

Zorza is a very famous dish in the Northwest Spanish region of Galicia. Basically, it is similar to the meat mixture used in the production of chorizo. One of the differences is that for Zorza the meat is chopped in coarser pieces. The impressively delicious taste of this pork dish comes from the long marination period. It is usually left to marinade for 24 hours in the fridge. The ingredients are quite basic but I did use proper Spanish pimentón (paprika) which gives the dish its distinctive red colour and above all a delicious flavour. If not available you can use normal paprika but make sure it is fresh as 'old' paprika tends to lose its flavour. Worth mentioning also the fact that Zorza is traditionally served with deep fried diced potatoes and fried eggs. One thing is for sure that your family and friends will love it no matter how it is served. We recently prepared a lot of it and we took it to a Spanish fiesta and our friends (Spanish and not) loved it and the Zorza was the first of the tapas to disappear from our table!! So do give this a go. The amounts below are for 6 people (if served as a meal) or 10 people or more if served as a range of tapas!!

• 1 kg pork loin, chopped into small dice (about 0.5 cm cubes)
• 3 tbsp sweet pimentón (paprika)
• 1/2 tbsp hot pimentón (paprika)
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp fine sea salt
• A large zip-lock bag

TWO TIPS: 

1. Make sure the meat is cut in equal pieces so as it cooks evenly.
2. If using 1 kg of meat cook it in two batches.

How to...

1. Put the meat and all the remaining ingredients in a large zip-lock bag, partially close and let all the air out. Now close the bag entirely and start mixing the meat and the ingredients by gently massaging the back. Keep doing this for about 10 minutes until the meat turns red and all the other ingredients are mixed in.
2. Put in the fridge and leave to marinade for 24 hours.
3. When it's time to cook your Zorza, heat up a wok or a  shallow pan on high heat and carefully start stir-frying the Zorza quickly, make sure your stir continuously to avoid it from sticking to the pan. Zorza takes less than 10 minutes to cook.
4. Serve warm with deep fried potatoes (cut the same size of the meat) and a fried egg per person. You can also put in a bowl for everyone to help yourself when you do your Spanish fiesta. Tapas are awesome!!!

Enjoy!!

R&A