Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s Galician crab empanada

Serves 6 Starters and mains

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Method

First, make the tomato sauce. This can be made in advance and chilled until needed. Put the olive oil into a pan over a medium heat, then add the onions and cook until caramelised. Add the carrots, leeks and bay leaf and cook until all the vegetables are very soft and mushy (the longer you cook them, the sweeter the sauce will be). Add the pancetta and chorizo and cook until they release their fat. Add the chopped choriceros, dried chillies, smoked paprika and blitzed tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cook until the sauce begins bubbling: taste and add sugar depending on how sweet the tomatoes are.

Next, make the crab or prawn stock, which can also be made in advance and chilled until needed. Put the olive oil into a large pan over a medium heat, then add the prawns/crab and cook, squashing them down to release their juices. Add the bay leaf, vegetables and garlic and cook until they are really soft. Add the tomato purée and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the brandy and cook to evaporate the alcohol. At this point, add 2 litres water to the pan. Cook for around 20 minutes, then pass through
a sieve and leave to rest.

Next, make the crab filling. If you are cooking your crab, put it into a pan of cold salted water (so that the crab cooks more gently) and bring to the boil.

A good rule of thumb is to allow 12 minutes per 450g of crab weight. A crab of around 500g will need boiling for 14- 15 minutes. Remove from the water and leave to cool before picking the meat.

Put the olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the shallots and leeks and cook until they are really soft but without any colour. Add the bay leaf, brandy and wine. Cook until the alcohol has completely evaporated, then add the crabmeat, 500ml of tomato sauce, cayenne pepper and 250ml of stock. Season and then cook on a very gentle heat for 10-15 minutes, until it is thickened. Leave to cool.

To make the empanada, preheat the oven to 170-180C /150-160C F/Gas 4 and lightly oil a 30cm x 20cm baking tray with olive oil. Roll out 2 pieces of puff pastry until they are around 2mm thick and as large as your baking tray, with 3cm overhang. Transfer 1 piece of pastry to the tray and prick all over with a fork. Spread the cooled crab mix over the pastry. The filling should not be too thick – not more than 1cm. Cover with another piece of pastry, cut to fit on the top. Seal the pastry by folding the edge over on itself, like a huge oblong ravioli. Roll out any spare bits of pastry and use as lattice decoration for the top of the empanada. Brush with the whisked egg and bake for 20 minutes.

Cut into squares. Eat warm or cold, accompanied by a salad (traditionally containing celery, mint, parsley and red onion). The empanada tastes even better the next day and will keep, chilled, for up to 3 days.