South African Shrimp Pockets

Shrimp, also known as prawns, langostinos, camarones, gambon, crevettes, and many other names to boot, are some of my absolute favorite seafood options around. I love them, no matter what you call them or how they are fixed. Shrimp and/or prawns are universal and are found just about everywhere. That means, there are infinite recipes and ways to prepare them too.

As you all know, I am a very adventurous eater. I love to travel and I love to experiment with new things, new ideas and new recipes, from all over the world. Because of this, as well as my restaurant/catering background, I also have a wide array of different cookbooks, from many different ethnicities from around the world. One of my African books has been on my desk ( as well as many others) for a few weeks now, so I was perusing through it to see if it had some good shrimp recipes. Of course it did. And of course, I did what I always do, and started with one recipe and by the time I was finished, I had created something completely different. I use recipes as guides, and then let my creative juices flow how they will.

I was going to make some South African shrimp strudel with a piri-piri sauce, which is Swahili for a pepper sauce. But …. as usual, it turned it something completely different, yet just as good, if not better. 🙂 I made South African inspired shrimp pockets with a piri-piri sauce instead. They were like South African shrimp empanadas.

This is an example of what all my recipes look like at the end of my creative process. 🙂

I really didn’t follow the recipe at all, but it did inspire me to make what I did. Typical. This is just how I roll. 🙂

South African Shrimp Pockets

my basic go-to dough with cayenne pepper and aji amarillo garlic seasoning

1 lb large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined

1 TBSP garlic

1/4 red onion, diced fine

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 tomato, diced

1 jalapeno, diced fine

salt & pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

1 tsp cumin

1 TBSP paprika

2-3 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP lemon olive oil

4 TBSP butter

lemon verbena, chiffonade

cilantro, chopped

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/4 cup dry white wine

Make the dough first. I used my basic go-to dough, and added some cumin, cayenne pepper and aji amarillo garlic seasoning. The Empanada Party – Part 1 – Beef Empanadas

Let the dough set in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before using.

Preheat the oven to 375* F or 191*C.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

Cut most of the shrimp into large pieces, saving some whole for the topping later. Sautee the shrimp in the olive oil and lemon olive oil until completely pink, for about 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Add the peppers, onions, garlic and seasonings, for about 3 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the vegetables begin to soften. Add the tomato right at the end. Once the vegetables are cooked, remove them and add to the shrimp. Mix together well.

Deglaze the pan with the wine and cook for about about 2 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook down for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the butter and incorporate thoroughly. Turn off the heat. Add most of the cilantro and lemon verbena, saving some for the topping later.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Roll it out thin. Cut into circles or rectangles. Add about 2-3 TBSP of the shrimp and vegetable mixture into the center, then fold the dough over and firmly pinch the sides together. Save some of the mixture to add into the sauce.

Place the pockets into the prepared baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes, carefully flipping them over after about 15 minutes, so they can cook and brown evenly. These are fragile pockets. Handle with care.

When the pockets are done, serve them over rice, top with the sauce, and the remaining whole shrimp, and a little fresh cilantro and/or lemon verbena. I used the rest of my black eyed peas with tomatoes Black-Eyed Peas With Spinach And Tomatoes and mixed that into the rice with some spicy sausage, making it more authentically African in nature.

And in no time at all, you have made a culinary trip to the African continent in the comfort of your own kitchen. Bon Appetit! Bon Hamu!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.