“This was very low on my list of recipes to share but when I asked the kids which they thought was the best recipe to share they ALL picked this one.
Tuna ‘envelopes’.
This is one of our favourite family meals; the two little girls make it by themselves which is really important to them.
I do cheat and use shop bought puff pastry because it is so easy!
The idea of envelopes is genius, we make them with all kinds of fillings.
If you have leftover chilli con carne, bolognaise sauce, chicken curry, beef stew etc you can use them to fill the envelopes.
The folding and filling is a great thing for little hands to do.
”
I really enjoyed making these tuna 'envelopes' for brunch today - there's something very satisfying about seeing the pastry turn golden brown. And I love the idea of using other fillings for them too - leftover bolognaise, or chilli con carne, or chicken curry ...
For four 'envelopes' you'll need (I made enough for two today):
2 tins of tuna (I used one)
1 tin of sweetcorn (I used a small one)
1/2 red onion finely chopped
a big dollop of mayonnaise
A sheet of puff pastry (I used half)
1 egg, beaten
Mix the tuna, sweetcorn, red onion and mayonnaise together in a bowl.
Unroll the sheet of puff pastry and cut into four squares (or 6-8 smaller squares - as I was using half the sheet mine were 'small squares').
Divide the tuna mix between the squares.
Fold the corners in so that they meet in the middle. (I tried folding mine in two different ways).
Brush with beaten egg.
Cook for 20 minutes in an oven at around 200C (I used Gas 7).
Kerrie says they usually serve them 'with mange tout and baby sweetcorn and a splodge of sweet chilli sauce to dip them in', but as mine were for brunch we had them with just a sliced tomato to add a little colour (plus realised I'd run out of sweet chilli sauce - so will be making more today).
I really liked these - and can see a Tiniest Thai green chicken curry 'envelope' happening for dinner soon!
And ... food memories ...
These pastries remind me of a family favourite of my own - my mum used to make and love little puff pastry 'envelopes' (folded with all four corners brought together like the lower 'envelope' in my photo) filled with egg and cheese and herbs. She called them 'borek' and we had them at Christmas.
Having looked up recipes for Turkish borek since, those of my childhood weren't especially authentic - I believe borek are crisp pastries that can have a savoury meat filling, or cheese fillings with feta or goats cheese plus fresh mint, parsley and dill.
But such things weren't commonly available back in the late '70's / early '80's and ours were puff pastry with a filling of egg, grated cheddar and probably dried herbs. They were so good!
Having Kerrie's tuna 'envelopes' today took me back to this food memory of my own.
And I made some!
A mix of feta, mint, parsley, a little black pepper and some dried chilli flakes with a squeeze of lemon juice - delicious ...
