Shrimp turnovers are not an immediate thought when you think of savoury pies. These beauties are made of a creamy filling and a buttery flaky pastry. Most have heard of Nigerian meat pies, Jamaican patties, English mince pies and Mexican empanadas; now I bring you these delicious savoury turnovers or pies, whatever you want to call them. The creamy filling and the buttery crust melts in your mouth and give a sense of warmth. I personally love them with a cup of tea.
Every pie needs a great pie crust. I start with a 2:1 ratio of margarine and flour. I use margarine because for me it has the in-between taste and consistency of butter and lard (or most shortening). A combination of butter and lard makes a great pastry because you get the buttery taste and light flakiness from the shortening. Margarine is basically shortening that taste like butter, so it’s a win-win.
Note: Before putting the pies into the oven, use a skewer to insert 2 or 3 holes. This will let excess steam out and let the pastry cook properly without soaking in the juices from the shrimp filling. I forgot to do so on this batch of pies, although luckily for me they still turned out great. However, I don’t want you to make the same mistake.
Shrimp Turnover Pie (Nigerian Meat Pie)
Equipment
- Pan
- Fork
Ingredients
Shrimp Filling
- 1 Spring Onion Finely Chopped
- 1 tsp minced ginger (freshly minced)
- 1 Garlic clove Finely Chopped/Minced
- 1 Small potato Chopped into mini cubes
- 1 Small carrot Chopped into mini cubes
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil or any vegetable oil
- 300 g Shrimps small shrimps but if big, chop into smaller bits.
- 100 g heavy cream
- ½ tsp rosemary
- Pinch Salt and Pepper
Shortcrust Pastry
- 300 g Flour
- 150 g Margarine at room temperature and cut in chunks
- 150 ml Water
- 1 tsp Salt
Finishing:
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup milk
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, toss the shrimps with olive oil, garlic and ginger for 2 minutes.
- Add the chopped carrots and potatoes and sauté for another 3 minutes. Stir in the cream and season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Let it simmer for an extra minute, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Put flour, salt and margarine in a bowl. Using your fingers, crumble the margarine into the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs.
- Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the water. Mix it all together, pour on a clean surface and knead into ball.
- Roll out the pastry flat with a rolling pin. Using a large cookie cutter or a soup bowl, cut out several pastries. You should get about 5 pieces.
- Scoop out equal amount of the shrimp filling into each piece of pastry.
- Turnover of end of the pastry into the other end. Using your thumb, press and lock both ends together. Set on a greased baking tray..
- Whisk one egg yolk with milk to make egg wash. Brush the egg wash onto each pie.
- Bake the pies in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.
