Rissóis de Camarão
Portuguese-Mozambican shrimp turnovers: half-moons of flour-and-butter dough filled with a thick béchamel of shrimp, paprika and a hint of piri-piri.
Overview
A boiled water-butter-flour dough rolls thin; a thick shrimp béchamel goes on top; folded into half-moons, sealed, dipped in egg, rolled in breadcrumbs, fried. Mozambican home cooks make these in batches of fifty and freeze them. The dough is forgiving as long as you let it rest.
Ingredients
Dough
- 250 ml water
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 300 g plain flour
Shrimp filling
- 400 g cooked small shrimp (or prawns, peeled, finely chopped)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 onion (small, very finely chopped)
- 1 garlic clove (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 200 ml whole milk (warm)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon piri-piri sauce (or to taste)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (chopped)
To finish
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 200 g dried breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil for shallow frying
Method
Stage 1 - Filling (make first; it needs to cool)
- Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat. Soften the onion 5 minutes.
- Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in the flour; cook 1 minute.
- Whisk in the warm milk slowly to a smooth thick sauce; simmer 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in paprika, piri-piri, lemon juice and shrimp; season with salt and pepper.
- Add parsley. Tip onto a plate; cover; cool completely (refrigerator if you're in a hurry).
Stage 2 - Dough
- Bring water, butter and salt to a boil in a pan.
- Off the heat, tip in the flour all at once; stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms and pulls from the sides.
- Turn onto a lightly floured board; knead 1 minute until smooth.
- Cover; rest 30 minutes.
Stage 3 - Shape
- Divide the dough in half. Roll one half on a lightly floured surface to 2 mm thick.
- Stamp out circles with a 7 cm cutter (or a glass).
- Place 1 teaspoon of filling on each circle. Fold in half to a half-moon; press the edges firmly to seal; crimp with a fork if you like.
- Repeat with the second half of dough and re-rolled scraps.
Stage 4 - Bread
- Dip each rissol in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs to coat.
- Place on a tray; refrigerate 15 minutes (helps the coating stay on in the fryer).
Stage 5 - Fry
- Heat 2 cm of oil in a frying pan to 170°C.
- Fry in batches of 5-6, 2-3 minutes per side until deep gold.
- Drain on kitchen paper.
Stage 6 - Serve
- Eat warm with lemon wedges and a small dish of piri-piri sauce.
Notes
- Cold filling matters: Warm filling melts the dough; you can't seal it. Cool to room temperature minimum.
- Sealing: Press firmly along the curved edge; a wet finger helps. Any gap leaks filling into the oil.
- Freeze ahead: Bread the rissóis as above; freeze on a tray, then bag. Fry from frozen, adding 1 minute per side.
Storage
- Refrigerate 2 days; re-crisp in a hot oven.
- Freeze (breaded, uncooked) up to 3 months.
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