Tielle Sétoise

Ingredients

• For the dough
• 300 g plain flour
• 60 ml olive oil
• 30 ml warm water
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 7 g dried yeast
• 1 pinch caster sugar
• 1 pinch fine salt
• For the filling
• 500 g small Mediterranean octopus, frozen then thawed to tenderize; cleaned
• 400 g crushed tomatoes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 pinch cayenne or piment d'Espelette
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pinch fine salt
• 1 pinch black pepper, freshly ground
• To finish
• 2 tbsp olive oil, for brushing

Method

1. 1
   Make the dough. Combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the egg, olive oil, warm water, and tomato paste. Bring together and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, soft, and uniformly red-orange — no dry patches of flour remain.
2. 2
   Cover the dough and leave to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. It is ready when it has relaxed and is noticeably softer and slightly puffy — it need not double in volume, but must have lost all elasticity.
3. 3
   Simmer the octopus. Place the thawed, cleaned octopus in cold court-bouillon (salted water with a bay leaf is sufficient) and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. The octopus is ready when a knife tip enters the thickest part of a tentacle without resistance.
4. 4
   Drain the octopus and allow it to cool briefly, then chop into 1 cm pieces. Set aside.
5. 5
   Build the ragout. Warm the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Sweat the onion and garlic until soft and translucent, without colour. Add the crushed tomatoes, chopped octopus, cayenne or piment d'Espelette, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This is where the dish lives or dies: the ragout must reduce to a thick, mounding consistency — spoon a portion onto a plate and it should hold its shape with no liquid bleeding around the edges. A wet filling will make soggy pastry that cannot be corrected after baking.
6. 6
   Remove the bay leaf. Taste and adjust salt and spice. The octopus should dominate; the cayenne should register as warmth, not heat. Allow the ragout to cool completely before filling.
7. 7
   Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a round approximately 12 cm in diameter. Place six rounds on a parchment-lined baking tray. Spoon a mound of cooled ragout onto the centre of each base round, leaving a 1 cm border clear. Lay the remaining six rounds over the filling and crimp the edges firmly together all around to seal.
8. 8
   Brush the surface of each tielle generously with olive oil. Bake at 200 °C for 20–25 minutes. The tielles are done when the crust is golden-orange, firm to a light tap, and the edges are set and dry — there should be no pale or soft patches on the surface.