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Rissois de camarão – Portuguese shrimp turnovers

Rissóis are small, savory fried turnovers from Portugal. These half-moon shaped croquettes are usually filled with shrimp or cod (rissóis de bacalhau), sometimes minced meat (rissóis de carne), before being breaded then deep-fried

Preparation time
less than 30 mins

Cooking time
10 to 30 mins

Serves
Serves 4–6

By Cyrus Todiwala
From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 500ml/18fl oz full-fat milk
  • 4 heaped tbsp unsalted butter
  • 250g/9oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • salt

For the filling

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1–2 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 2 green chillies, finely chopped
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • ½ green pepper, finely diced
  • 1–2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 heaped tbsp plain flour
  • 200ml/7fl oz full-fat milk, cold
  • 100ml/3½fl oz water or fish stock
  • ½ tsp crushed black or ground white pepper, plus extra if needed
  • 250–300g/9–10½oz prawns or shrimps, peeled, deveined and chopped into small pieces
  • 1–1½ tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • ¼ tsp grated nutmeg

For the crumb coating

  • 2 free-range eggs
  • 20ml/¾fl oz milk
  • 150g/5½oz flour
  • 150g/5½oz panko breadcrumbs
  • oil, for deep frying

To serve

  • 2 tbsp coriander leaves
  • spicy mayonnaise or sweet chilli sauce

Method

  1. To make the pastry, heat the milk and butter in a saucepan and season with salt. Do not allow to boil, just heat until it starts to bubble. When the butter is completely melted, reduce the heat to medium, take a wooden spoon and, whilst stirring fast, add all of the flour. Keep stirring until a dough is formed and all the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat but keep stirring for a minute and then turn the dough out onto a work surface.

  2. Keep working the dough for a minute or so until it is smooth and then bring together into a ball. Dust a work surface with flour, place the ball on top and cover lightly with a cloth. Try not to over-work the dough, this process is pretty fast. The dough should come together nicely and feel smooth and springy to the touch. Set aside to cool.

  3. To make the filling, heat the butter and oil together in a saucepan until the butter is completely melted and starting to get hot. Add the cumin seeds, garlic and green chillies and fry until the garlic turns pale and softened. Add the onion and fry until the onion turns pale and softened. Add the green peppers, spring onions and flour and stir for a minute or so. Pour in the milk and water and mix a bit faster so that there are no lumps formed. Bring gently to the boil and allow to thicken.

  4. Season with salt and pepper, add the prawns and mix in well. Heat for a minute or so then turn off the heat and keep mixing. The mixture should now be really thick (see tip). Add the coriander and nutmeg. Taste and add more pepper or salt if preferred. When the mixture is thick and sticky, transfer to a bowl and leave to cool down.

  5. To add the crumb coating, beat the eggs gently with the milk in a wide shallow bowl until the whites are broken up. Divide the dough into two pieces and form each into a ball. Roll them out on a work surface to roughly 3mm thickness. Take a round cutter that is roughly 7.5cm/3in in diameter and cut out a disc. Place a teaspoon of the filling in the centre of the disc, apply some of the egg wash on the edges and fold over to form a half moon. Press down to seal the edges. Set aside on a baking tray lined with baking paper or a plastic sheet. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.

  6. Place the flour and breadcrumbs in wide shallow bowls alongside the egg wash. Dip each rissois in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs so each is completely coated. Place in the fridge for an hour, or in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.

  7. Preheat a deep fat fryer to 180C. Fry the rissois in batches until golden. Transfer to kitchen paper to drain.

  8. Serve with spicy mayonnaise or chilli sauce.

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