A magnificent Maltese savoury pie packed with a rich filling of tuna, spinach, olives, capers and vegetables, all encased in golden puff pastry and finished with a dramatic poppy seed crust. Impressive, flavourful and deeply satisfying.
Serves 2–4
Ingredients
For the filling
- 400g fresh spinach [you can use frozen but you have to boil and drain them well first]
- 2 large tins of tuna in olive oil, drained
- 6–8 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
- 150g Maltese olives, pitted and roughly chopped
- 30g capers, drained and rinsed
- 1 large potato, peeled and roughly diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 150g frozen peas, thawed
- extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Pre-packed puff pastry
- 1 tbs poppy seeds (optional)
Method
- Preheat the oven: Heat your oven to 190°C.
- Cook the spinach: Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add fresh spinach in batches and cook for 3–4 minutes until completely wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze out all excess water thoroughly, this step is critical or the pastry will turn soggy. Set aside to cool.
- Prepare the filling: In a large bowl combine the drained tuna, chopped anchovies, olives, capers, potato, carrots and peas. Add the squeezed spinach and mix everything together gently. Season generously with black pepper, the anchovies and capers will provide most of the salt so taste before adding more.
- Line the dish: Lightly oil a large round pie dish or baking tin approximately 28cm in diameter. Lay one sheet of puff pastry across the base, pressing it gently into the corners and letting the excess overhang the edges.
- Fill the pie: Spoon the filling evenly into the pastry-lined dish, pressing it down firmly to compact the layers.
- Top the pie: Lay the second sheet of puff pastry over the filling. Press the edges of the top and bottom pastry together firmly and crimp or fold to seal all the way around. Trim any excess pastry. Brush the entire top generously with beaten egg wash. Scatter some poppy seeds evenly over the surface. Prick the top a few times with a fork to allow steam to escape.
- Bake: Bake at 190°C for 35–40 minutes until the pastry is deeply golden and crisp all over. Leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
- Serve: Cut into generous wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.
