Skip to content
WhatToEat.Today

Rissóis de camarão

Creamy prawn turnovers

Rissóis de camarão: Maputo's crumbed half-moon pastries filled with creamy prawns

Pastelarias along Avenida Julius Nyerere in Maputo stack trays of these golden half-moons by mid-morning, and they disappear at birthday parties, christenings and office leaving dos by the dozen. The dough is a cooked, soft milk-and-butter pastry rather than a raw one, rolled thin, filled with prawns in a thick, nutmeg-scented white sauce with a little lemon and chilli, then dipped in egg and crumbs and fried. Bite through and you get a crisp shell, a tender pastry layer and a molten, sweet-savoury filling. Serve them warm with a squeeze of lemon and a little piri-piri sauce for the grown-ups. Chef's tip: chill the filling until it is completely cold and firm before you fill; warm filling is the usual reason rissóis burst in the oil.

Prep
60 min
Cook
30 min
Difficulty
Medium
Serves
8
Per serving
430 kcal
One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves8

For the prawn filling

For the dough

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 ¾ oz butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 13 oz plain flourplus extra for rolling

To coat and fry

Shop this recipe on Amazon

Spices & pantry: untick what you have

Add 3 items to Amazon cart
Fresh ingredients (8)

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/12 done
  1. Step 1: For the filling, melt the 1 ⅜ oz butter in a pan over a medium heat and soften the 1 onion without colouring it.

    6 min
  2. Step 2: Add the 2 cloves garlic and the 14 oz raw peeled prawns and cook, stirring, until every piece of prawn has turned pink and opaque all the way through.

    3 min
  3. Step 3: Sprinkle in the 1 ⅜ oz plain flour and stir for a minute, then pour in the 1 ¼ cups whole milk a little at a time, stirring hard, until you have a very thick sauce that leaves the base of the pan as you stir.

    6 min
  4. Step 4: Off the heat, season with the ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tbsp lemon juice, ½ tsp dried chilli flakes, 2 tbsp fresh parsley and ½ tsp salt. Spread on a plate, cover and chill until cold and firm.

    30 min
  5. Step 5: For the dough, bring the 1 cup whole milk, 1 cup water, 1 ¾ oz butter and 1 tsp salt to the boil in a large pan over a medium heat.

    5 min
  6. Step 6: Tip in the 13 oz plain flour all at once and beat hard with a wooden spoon over a low heat until the dough pulls away from the pan in one smooth ball.

    2 min
  7. Step 7: Turn the dough onto a floured worktop and, once cool enough to handle, knead for 2–3 minutes until smooth. Cover with a cloth.

    10 min
  8. Step 8: Roll a third of the dough out to about 2 mm thick and cut 9 cm rounds. Keep the rest covered so it doesn't dry out.

  9. Step 9: Put a heaped teaspoon of filling on one half of each round, fold into a half-moon and press the edges firmly together, pushing out any air. Repeat with the rest of the dough to make about 32.

  10. Step 10: Dip each rissol in the 2 eggs, then roll in the 5 ½ oz fine dried breadcrumbs, pressing so they stick all over. Set on a tray in the fridge while the oil heats.

  11. Step 11: Heat the 4 ¼ cups sunflower oil in a deep pan to 350°F. Fry 5–6 at a time, turning once, until deep golden all over.

    4 min
  12. Step 12: Drain on kitchen paper and rest for a few minutes before eating; the filling is scalding straight from the oil.

    3 min

Nutrition per serving

Calories
430 kcal
Protein
18 g
Carbs
46 g
Fat
19 g
Fibre
2 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

K
Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does rissóis de camarão take?
About 90 minutes in total: 60 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?
8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
What can I use instead of butter?
The same weight of ghee or coconut oil (for frying and most baking).
What can I use instead of onion?
2 shallots per onion.

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

Sign in to rate and review this recipe.

SakarpadaSweet fried dough diamonds

Sakarpada (shakarpara) are little sweet diamonds of a rich dough made with ghee, milk and sugar, fried until golden and crunchy. They are a Diwali favourite with tea, and the cubes go into bhusu too. They keep for weeks in an air-tight tin.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Yaki onigiriGrilled rice balls

Yaki onigiri (焼きおにぎり) are rice balls grilled until they form a crisp, toasty crust, then brushed with soy sauce glaze. They are eaten all over Japan, at izakaya, at barbecues and from the freezer section, as a snack or with miso soup. The inside stays soft and steamy while the outside crackles. Best eaten hot, straight from the pan. Chef's tip: let the shaped rice balls dry for 10 minutes before they go in the pan. A drier surface forms a better crust and won't stick, and the glaze goes on only at the end so it doesn't burn.

by KrazyBadal 2 views

Sun-dried potato crisps

Thin potato crisps blanched in salted water with citric acid and dried in the sun, a traditional store-cupboard standby for fasting days. Fried in seconds when needed, they puff up light, crisp and white. Sprinkle with black pepper or chilli powder. Drying takes 1–2 days of strong sun.

by KrazyBadal 2 views