Galician Empanada

Dough:

Measure flour in a large bowl and form a well in the middle. In a smaller bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in the warm water and stir in the yeast. Let sit a few minutes and then add olive oil to yeast mixture. Pour into the well in the flour. Mix the flour and liquid with your hands until incorporated and then knead for about 5 minutes, until a smooth, elastic dough forms, using a spatula to pick up any crusty bits from your bowl and incorporating them into the dough if necessary.

Form the dough into a smooth ball. Grease the bowl and the top of the dough ball with olive oil. Cover with plastic or a wet cloth and set aside in a warm place for around 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Filling:

Boil potatoes in salted water just until a knife slips into them easily, but they’re not falling apart. Cool, peel, and cut into a small to medium dice like the peppers and onions.

While potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking.

Add peppers and onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until softened.

Add garlic, rosemary, smoked paprika and a pinch of fresh ground black pepper, turn down the heat, and cook until onions and peppers are very soft, stirring occasionally, another 5 to 10 minutes. Do not allow to burn.

Stir in smoked trout and prepared potatoes, taste, and adjust seasoning as necessary. Set aside to cool.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large, deep-dish pie plate or large cast iron skillet generously with olive oil (10-inch, 11-inch or 12-inch diameter will all work).

Cut 1/3 of the dough off and set aside (this will be the top of the empanada). On a floured work surface, roll out the larger portion of dough to form a thin sheet large enough to fill and overhang the edges of your baking pan by about an inch. Transfer it to the prepared pan, pressing it into the edges and overhanging the rim. Trim so that the overhang is even.

Pour filling into the pan and spread out evenly.

Roll out smaller portion of dough into a thin sheet big enough to cover the filling. Roll overhanging dough of bottom crust onto top crust, twisting and pinching to seal. Brush top with egg yolk. Cut 2 or 4 small slits on top crust to allow steam to vent. Bake until browned on top and cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes.

Let cool slightly, cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature with a hearty salad.