Briouats are Moroccan triangle pastries stuffed with countless savory or sweet fillings, classically, they are made with a sheet pastry called al waraqa, which means paper, yes, its paper thin and ready available at markets in Morocco, the best alternative would be phyllo dough; shrimp briouats are one of my absolute favorite appetizers, they are flaky with a mouthwatering seasoned shrimp and noodles, video included! Learn all the tips to prepare a batch and keep in your freezer for the holidays or for the holy month of Ramadan, it’s a handy recipe and I am pretty sure it will be a great addition to your festive holiday table, they are seriously good.
Making briouats might appear intimidating at first, but really nothing particularly hard about them, just a few steps are involved, and believe me they are so worth the effort. Folding the briouates may by far be the most complicated thing of the whole procedure, watch the video tutorial to learn the technique.
Ingredients needed to make shrimp brioutes:
- Glass noodles: They are sold in dried form and have a transluscent appearance.
- Alwaraqa sheets, known also as brik pastry, can be found at Moroccan markets, the best substitute is phyllo dough, and that’s what i used in this recipe.
- Shrimp: Use shelled uncooked shrimp, devein if necessary.
- Garlic: Crush the garlic to bring out their flavor.
- Cilantro: adds a depth of agreeable herby taste.
- Spices used, a mix of cumin powder, paprika, cayenne and salt.
- Flour and water to make a paste to secure the briouates after folding.
- Sunflower oil for both filling and deep frying.
- Butter, to add a depth of flavor to the filling
Tips and Tricks
- If you are working with phyllo dough, thaw it properly overnight in the fridge, because the slow, cold process prevents the paper-thin sheets from drying out too quickly and becoming gummy or cracking.
- While working with the phyllo dough, keep it covered with plastic wrap or damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
- Cool the filling well and before stuffing and folding the briouates.
- Brush the end of triangle while folding with the flour and water paste, you don’t want fillings leaking out into that frying oil.
- The ideal adequate temperature for deep frying is 190°C/ 375°F. If the temperature is too low, the briouates will absorb oil, if it climbs too high, the exterior will burn.
- To minimize the splattering, fry briouates in a deep pot rather than a skillet.
- Drain the briouatesafter frying on kitchen paper towels.
- You could skip the shrimp and use cooked chicken.
Can I bake briouats instead of frying them?
Classically briouates are fried finger foods, but yes, you can still bake them for a healthier option, however, the briouates will have a different flavor and texture.
Freezing briouats!
Briouats are ideal for freezing, especially before frying them which makes them a great make ahead appetizer, to freeze them, place them on a tray in a single layer and freeze uncovered until solid, then pack them in a ziplock bag and freeze them.
Looking for more party finger food, we got you covered!
- Lebanese fried kibbeh balls
- Cheese samboussek
- Lebanese meat rolls
- Sfeeha, Lebanese meat pies
- Lebanese meat fatayer
Moroccon Shrimp Briouates
Description
Ingredients
- 1 package phyllo dough
- 250 grams glass noodles
- 300 grams shrimp, peeled and vein removed
- A handful of chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
To make the water flour paste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- If you are working with phyllo dough, thaw it properly overnight in the fridge, because the slow, cold process prevents the paper-thin sheets from drying out too quickly and becoming gummy or cracking. If you are using brik pastry skip this step.
- Boil water in a medium-sized pot, add the vermicelli noodles, remove from heat and soak the noodles for 5 minutes, strain the vermicelli. Leave it to cool down a bit then roughly chop the vermicelli with a sharp knife.
- Heat oil in a large skillet, add the butter, stir in the shrimp and saute for just 2 minutes, allowing them to turn from traslucent to opaque; remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Cut the shrimp to 1 inch pieces.
- To the same skillet add the crushed garlic, cilantro, cumin powder, cayenne, paprika and salt, cook everything together over medium heat allowing the spices to diffuse with garlic and cilantro, this combination is called in Morocco chermoula, cook it for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently, add the cooked vermicelli and shrimp and stir well together to infuse the vermicelli and shrimp in the chermoula. Take a bite to adjust salt to your taste prefernce. Leave it to cool down completely.
- In a small bowl mix together the flour and water to form a paste.
- Cut a whole phyllo pastry sheet into three equal strips. Cover with a plastic bag or a damp kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out. Take two sheets of phyllo and Lay the two strips of phyllo on top of each other.
- Place a heaping tablespoon of the filling in the bottom right-hand corner, fold the corner to the left to form a triangle, then to the right, continue folding the triangle, flipping right and then left until you reach the end of the strip, brush the end of the edge with the water and flour mixture to securly wrap the briouats. Watch the video tutorial below.
- Heat oil to an adequate frying temperature, and fry the shrimp briouates in batches (don't crowd the frying pan) to a golden color, remove with a slotted spoon and serve warm, how delicious.
Video
