Rissóis

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 mlwater
• 80 gbutter
• 1 tspsalt
• 500 gplain flour

Filling

• 400 gprawns, chopped
• 60 gbutter
• 60 gplain flour
• 500 mlmilk
• 1onion, very finely chopped
• 2 clovesgarlic
• 1 tbspchopped parsley
• juice of half a lemon
• salt
• white pepper
• a grating of nutmeg
• 1piri-piri, chopped, optional

To coat

• 2eggs, beaten
• 200 gfine breadcrumbs

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• lemon wedges
• piri-piri sauce

Directions

1. Bring the water, butter and salt to a rolling boil in a pan. Take it off the heat and tip in all the flour at once, stirring hard with a wooden spoon. It must be boiling and the flour must go in all at once, because the heat gelatinises the starch and that is what makes this dough pliable and strong.
2. Beat it until it comes together into a smooth ball that leaves the sides of the pan. Tip it onto a surface and knead it while it is still hot, as hot as you can bear. Knead it hot. A cooled hot-water dough is stiff and cracks, and this is where most attempts go wrong. Knead until it is completely smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
3. Wrap it and let it rest while you make the filling. Now the filling, which must be thick enough to hold its shape when cold. Add the milk gradually, whisking each addition in fully before the next.
4. Cook it until it is very thick indeed, thicker than any sauce you would pour. It should hold a firm shape on the spoon and pull away from the pan. Stir in the chopped prawns, parsley, lemon, nutmeg and seasoning and cook 2 minutes. Chop the prawns rather than leaving them whole, so the filling can be sealed thinly. Now spread the filling on a tray and chill it completely, for at least 2 hours.
5. Roll the dough out thinly, about 2 mm, on a lightly floured surface. Roll it thin, because the appeal is a thin crisp shell around a soft filling, not a thick pastry. Cut rounds of about 9 cm with a cutter or a glass. Put a spoonful of cold filling on one half, leaving a clear border. Do not overfill.
6. Fold the round over into a half-moon and press the edges firmly. Seal it thoroughly and press out any trapped air, because air expands in the fryer and forces the seam apart.
7. Chill the shaped rissóis for 30 minutes. Dip each one in beaten egg, letting the excess drip off, then press it into the breadcrumbs on both sides. Coat them evenly and press the crumbs on firmly. Chill them again for 20 minutes before frying, which helps the coating stay on.
8. Heat the oil to 180°C (355°F) and fry a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes until deep golden. Do not crowd the pan, which drops the temperature and makes them greasy. Drain on a rack rather than paper. Serve hot with lemon and piri-piri, and warn people that the filling is molten.

Technique

• They freeze beautifully after coating and are fried from frozen with a minute added.
• Chicken and mixed seafood fillings are equally common.
• The dough is the same one used for Portuguese rissóis everywhere.

Substitutions

• Chicken or crab in place of prawns.
• Panko in place of fine breadcrumbs, which gives a coarser crust.

Variations

• With chicken, as rissóis de galinha.
• With crab or mixed seafood.
• Baked rather than fried, which is lighter and less good.

History

A Portuguese savoury pastry that stayed on in Mozambican cafés and bakeries, remade with prawns from the Indian Ocean.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rissóis?

Rissóis is a snack from Mozambique: half-moon pastries of shrimp béchamel, breadcrumbed and fried. A Portuguese savoury pastry that stayed on in Mozambican cafés and bakeries, remade with prawns from the Indian Ocean.

How long does Rissóis take to make?

Rissóis takes 1 hr plus 2 hr chilling of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 24. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Rissóis?

Yes, within limits. Chicken or crab in place of prawns. Panko in place of fine breadcrumbs, which gives a coarser crust.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rissóis?

Bring the water, butter and salt to a rolling boil in a pan. Take it off the heat and tip in all the flour at once, stirring hard with a wooden spoon. It must be boiling and the flour must go in all at once, because the heat gelatinises the starch and that is what makes this dough pliable and strong.