A Pati Jinich Recipe
Tuna Minilla Casserole
8 to 10 servings
Cazuela de Minilla de Atún
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup chopped white onion
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds (about 6) ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped
- 2 7-ounce cans tuna, drained and shredded
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt, or to taste
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped raisins
- 1/4 cup manzanilla olives stuffed with pimientos, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeño chiles, store-bought or homemade, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 3 tablespoons Italian or flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1 1.2-pound package frozen puff pastry, thawed, or homemade puff pastry
- all-purpose flour, for rolling out the puff pastry
- 1 egg, optional
- 2 tablespoons water, optional
To Prepare
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Once hot, but not smoking, stir in the onion and cook until it is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until completely cooked, softened and mashed-up and pasty looking, about 15 minutes.
- Toss in the tuna, and with a spatula or wooden spoon, mix it well with the tomato mixture, making sure there are no big chunks. Add the bay leaves, brown sugar, oregano, thyme, salt and mix well. Add the raisins, olives, pickled jalapenos, capers, fresh parsley and mix well. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium low. Cook for about 10 minutes, the mixture should be very moist but not watery. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Remove the bay leaves and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Lightly flour a rolling pin and roll out 1 thawed sheet of pastry about 1/8-inch thick to line the bottom and sides of a round baking dish (you may wish to add a pastry sheet in the bottom and top of the casserole, or only on the top!). Add the tuna filling to the puff pastry lined baking dish, using a rubber spatula to evenly spread the filling. Roll out another thawed sheet of pastry and use to cover the tuna filling – pinching the edges of the 2 sheets of pastry together to seal.
- Optional: In a small mixing bowl, beat the egg along with the water. Brush the top of the casserole with the egg wash.
- Cut 4 to 5 vents on the top. Place the casserole in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until crisp, puffed up and golden brown.
