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.
9 Responses
OMG these look awesome! I love that you can bite in and it’s like you’re biting into a little surprise. Obviously since you made them they wouldn’t be – but you could surprise everyone you feed! 😉
A delicious surprise!
Omg I love this idea–I never would have thought of shrimp hand pies.
Right? I love creamy meals, sauces especially made with shrimp and I thought why not put it in a pie… it was absolutely delicious!
Ooooh! These look amazing. I would eat one after another!
Ah girl, they went really fast, I had to make some more.
Now that’s what I’m talking about! Shrimp turnovers! Definitely not expected but sounds really good!
I love that you love it and trust me I was surprise myself at how good the tasted
After making the Nigerian meat pies last week, which were fantastic, I gave the shrimp version a go. I can’t decide which I prefer. They were both delicious and disappeared very quickly! This one is quicker to make as it doesn’t require the chilling stages but ummm….so delicious. I’ll definitely not only be making them again but also trying out other recipes from Immaculate. Well worth it!