Easter pie with tuna and egg

I got the inspiration for this simple and delicious recipe from some very dear, loyal customers who lent us their recipe book "Pâtés" by Stéphane Reynaud, which we have been browsing through ever since. For Easter, I decided on a variation filled with fish and eggs and replaced the salmon fillet originally intended for the filling with canned tuna.

"In the beginning there was the dough" ... that's what it says in the foreword to the beautiful baking book, which of course also contains the basic recipes for sweet and savory puff and shortcrust pastry. But the author also has mercy on stressed-out city dwellers without their own rolling pin and allows the use of ready-made versions like filo or brik dough from the Greek or Turkish. Depending on which type of dough you choose, the pie will be different. For example, I baked mine from Turkish wafer-thin puff pastry, probably intended for börek. I also successfully experimented with a small mini version in an ovenproof soufflé dish, of which there are no photos because I was too hungry. So that works too. I could also imagine the whole thing in a casserole dish... probably just about anything will work. It depends on your preference and kitchen equipment.

I wasn't too precise with the recipe and the units of measurement either. I generally like to freestyle in the kitchen. As I didn't have to feed 6 people, which is what the recipe is designed for, I reduced the amount of tuna, cream and eggs to 3 people, but not the herbs and pastis. I also didn't puree the stuffing in a blender, but just mixed it with a fork and roughly crushed it, because I actually think it's nice to have a few pieces between your teeth to chew on and the consistency of the fish is still recognizable.

Ingredients for 6 people:

• 600 g canned tuna (mixed natural and in olive oil )
• 1 bunch of dill
• 5 eggs (available fresh from the free-range farmer in our store)
• 300 ml cream
• 1 tbsp pastis
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• Salt pepper
• 1 bunch basil
• 500 g puff pastry
• 1 tbsp sesame

Preparation of the filling:

Pluck the leaves from the dill, wash and chop finely. Puree the tuna with the dill, 4 eggs, the cream and the pastis in a blender or mash with a fork and mix well. Add the fennel seeds and season with salt and pepper. Pluck the basil leaves and wash them.

Assembly and baking:

Halve the dough and roll it out into two equal-sized rectangles. Line a baking tray with baking paper or grease it with butter and place a base of dough on it. Spread half of the stuffing on it, leaving a 1cm border free. Top with the basil and cover with the remaining stuffing. As I was dealing with very thin dough and had far too much of it available, I divided the stuffing into a second layer of dough. Brush the edge of the dough with the remaining beaten egg, place the second sheet of dough on top and seal the edges tightly. Brush the pie with more egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 45 minutes at 180°C.

Conclusion:
The pate tastes wonderfully light and yet spicy. The mixture of dill, basil and fennel seeds is really interesting and aromatic. Personally, I didn't think the taste of the pastis came through enough, so I might add a second tablespoon next time. And if you just can't get enough of the delicious fennel taste, you can of course mix in a can of tuna fillets with fennel !
I found the pie very tasty when it was fresh out of the oven and warm, but I actually liked it even better when it was cold for a picnic the next day.

For me, this really uncomplicated and quick pie is the ideal picnic food and therefore great for Easter: for breakfast, a picnic or a buffet. Or as a savoury snack when you've had enough of chocolate eggs and yeast plaited bread...

And really, you can choose what you want to put in the filling. If you have a can of sardines or mackerel left over - I can also imagine capers or olives - just add them in, it will definitely taste good.

A light white wine is the best accompaniment . I happened to have a bottle of the new Alento branco in the fridge, so I tried it straight away and what can I say: it goes perfectly!

- - -

Here is the print-friendly version of the recipe as a pdf version