Rissois are a delicious type of fried pastry from Portugal. They come in many types but my favourite is Rissóis de Camarão. Rissois that are stuffed with a creamy shrimp filling, which is wrapped in a light dough and then fried.
If you visited Portugal, you’ve probably noticed these golden-brown half-moon shaped pastries displayed in supermarkets and traditional cafés. They are called rissóis and they are deep-fried pastries usually filled with shrimp or mincemeat. They are the perfect pairing to an imperial and are usually eaten on their own as a snack, or as main course with tomato rice and salad.
Rissole, Rissóis or Risoles?
When applied internationally, the word rissole can mean many different things. When searching for it it’s likely you’ll get results pointing to beef patties, potatoes, desserts, and sometimes something resembling the Portuguese pastry we discussed earlier.
For the French, rissoles are usually small, sweet pastries filled with a compote made of pears and spices. For the British, a rissole usually refers to a patty made of leftover meat from a Sunday roast. In Australia and New Zealand, a rissole is similar to a meatball, usually made from beef, chicken or lamb. For the Indonesian, a rissole is a snack made of crepe dough, filled with chicken, egg, and varied veg, combined with bechamel sauce. Similar to the Portuguese rissóis, the dough is rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried.
Rissóis and risoles on the other hand, are both Portuguese words from Portugal and Brazil respectively. And although they mean pretty much the same thing, there can be some differences when it comes to what goes inside the pastry. In Portugal, shrimp, and beef are the traditional fillings. In Brazil you can find a greater variety of risoles made with cheese, shrimp, palm heart, and beef. In Brazil they are smaller and not usually served with rice, as they are classically a birthday party snack. Today we focus on Portuguese Rissóis!
About Our Rissóis Recipe
Rissóis de Camarão consists of a dough made with flour and stock, and a creamy shrimp filling. You can have both components ready to go beforehand and leave the shaping and frying for the day you will eat them. Or you can also finish them in advance, and store in the fridge for a day or two until frying. We prefer making the filling the day before since it needs a couple of hours to cool off and set.
The next day we prepare the dough, shape, coat them in breadcrumbs and then fry. Either way, this recipe is really simple, and it doesn’t require a lot of ingredients, just a bit of patience, since they are shaped by hand, one by one. There are ways to make the shaping part quicker, but we prefer doing it the traditional way as my grandmother does!
Shrimp Rissois Filling
When it comes to the filling, we prefer using fresh prawns as their skin can be used to make the stock that goes in the dough. Fresh prawns can be replaced by frozen or precooked, and you can use chicken or vegetable stock cubes. It’s really up to you and the time you have available.
These snacks are simply delicious, and we guarantee you will be surprised with the results! There are best eaten while still warm, and the perfect snack or starter! And for the optimum Portuguese experience, they can be served with piri piri sauce and a glass of cold beer!
Rissóis de Camarão – How to Make Portuguese Prawn Rissoles
This recipes yields around 15 individual pasties!
Rissóis de Camarão – Portuguese Shrimp Rissoles
15
servings1
hour15
minutes30
minutes230
kcalRissois are a delicious type of fried pastry from Portugal. A creamy shrimp sauce, wrapped in a light dough then fried creates a delicious snack!
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
2 cups All Purpose Flour (240 g)
1 cup Shrimp Stock (250 ml)
1 cup Full Fat Milk (250 ml)
2 tbsp Butter (30g)
Salt
Black Pepper
- Prawn Filling
400 g Cleaned Shrimp
2 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion – Diced
2 Garlic Cloves – Minced
125 ml Shrimp Stock
80 ml Milk
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
2 tbsp Flour
Salt
Black Pepper
Fresh Parsley
- Breading and Fyring
100 g Breadcrumbs
100 ml Milk
1 Egg Yolk
Salt
Black Pepper
1 l Vegetable Oil
Directions
- Making Your Dough
- Place a medium pan over medium to high heat, add the milk, stock, and butter. Season it with a little salt and pepper. Meanwhile, measure your flour and have it ready to go.
- Once the mixture starts to simmer, add the 2 cups of flour, use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir it vigorously. The mixture will look very lumpy and as you continue to stir it will clump into a ball. Continue to mix without removing from the heat, until the dough is smooth and has gained colour. If you find some small lumps of flour, you can use your spoon to press it against the sides of the pan to dissolve it.
- Remove from the heat, transfer it to a clean surface, and start working the dough immediately. At this point the dough will be a bit too hot to handle, you can use a rolling pin to knead it. Once it becomes less hot, use your hands to knead it for a couple of minutes until it becomes slightly elastic. Cover with plastic film, rest it for 30 minutes before using.
- Making the Filling
- Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil, onion, and garlic, frying it for a couple of minutes.
- Add the prawns, cook for another 3 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, nutmeg, and chilli powder.
- Add the tomato paste, cook for another 2 minutes, before adding the liquids: prawn stock and milk.
- Once it starts to simmer, add the flour, stir well. Continue to cook everything until it reduces, and you are left with a thick but creamy mixture. Season it with freshly chopped parsley and more salt and pepper if needed. Allow it to cool completely before storing in the fridge.
- Shaping the Rissóis
- Divide the dough in two equal pieces. Using a rolling pin or similar, evenly roll out one of the pieces until it’s about 2mm thin.
- Use a biscuit cutter or similar to cut medium circles out of the dough sheet. Our cutter had 10cm of diameter. You can use the shavings to cut more circles. Repeat the process with the other piece of dough.
- Place a small portion of your prawn filling in the centre of each one of the circles.
- Use a damp brush to lightly brush the edges of your circles, then fold the circle, gently applying some pressure to glue the sides, closing your pastry. Repeat the process until you finish.
- Place a small pan over low heat, add enough vegetable oil to deep fry your pastries.
- Meanwhile, add the breadcrumbs to a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the milk, egg yolk, season it with salt and pepper.
- Dip the pastry into the milk mixture, then coat it with breadcrumbs. Repeat the process until you finish.
- Use a kitchen thermometer to check the oil temperature. It should be ready when it reaches 180 °C. If you don’t have a thermometer, test the oil with one of the pastries. It should form gentle bubbles without splashing too much as it should fry slowly for it to cook evenly. Make sure you don’t fry too many pastries at the same time, so the oil temperature doesn’t change too much.
- Once the pastries are golden brown, remove them from the oil. Place it on top of kitchen paper to remove excessive oil.
We hope you enjoy this recipe! Have you tried it? Let us know in the comments!
