This Side of Heaven... where angels love to tread!

Another seafood dish that Karrol did together with the scallops that same night was "Shrimp Rissoles". She also got the recipe from the same cookbook. While searching Wikipedia what "rissole" meant, it gave me as one of the description:

In Portugal, rissoles are known as rissóis (single rissol) and are often filled with cod, chicken, minced meat or shrimp.

Now, I haven't talk to my daughter yet about this, since it is only now that I found out that this is a popular dish in Portugal. Hmmm! was it by chance that she found a recipe that she might have tried when she was in Portugal 2 weeks ago?

Well, anyway, this is a delicious appetizer or finger food for your next party. The only thing though is that, one should make it a little bit smaller like an empanaditas and not as big as a regular empanada.

Karrol also made the pastry from scratch. It came out really great; flaky, buttery and full of flavor(not doughy).


Shrimp Rissoles

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour + extra for dusting

2 1/4 sticks of butter

2/3 cup ice water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup milk

freshly grated nutmeg

1 bay leaf

1 lb cooked & shelled shrimp

1 hard-cooked egg, shelled and chopped

1 tbsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

vegetable oil for deep-frying

salt and pepper

* Sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add 1/2 stick of the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles of bread crumbs. Stir in the water and lemon juice and mix to a dough. Knead lightly and shape into a ball, then cover and chill for 15 mins. Place 1 1/2 sticks of the remaining butter between 2 sheets of wax paper and beat out into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick.

* Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Place the butter rectangle in the center. Fold the top and bottom of the dough over it, then wrap in foil and let the package chill for 10 mins.

* Place the dough on a lightly floured counter with a folded edge facing you. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick, then fold into 3 again. Wrap and let chill for 15 mins. Repeat rolling and folding twice more.

* Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a pan. Add the remaining flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 mins.,or until golden. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Reduce the heat to low and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and add the bay leaf. Remove from heat and let cool.

* Mix the egg and shrimp together in a bowl, then fold in the sauce, removing the bay leaf. Stir in the paprika, cayenne and parsley.

* Roll out the dough to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3-inch squares. Place 1 tsp of the shrimp mixture on each square. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough over to make triangles, pressing the edges to seal.

* Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer or a large pan. Deep fry the dough triangles, in batches, for 2 mins. or until golden and puffed up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.


Though the recipe might seem daunting, be not afraid cause if my daughter was able to make it the first time and it did come out so good, I'm sure that anybody can likewise do the same. This is surely going to be a big hit in your next soiree, I assure you.