Have you met Bela? If not, you really should, either to design a beautiful kitchen (like the one featured in this post), or because she has the best Ressois around! If you aren’t sure how to say that, you’re not alone… but I got a lesson. It’s pronounced (with apologies to any of my Portuguese friends): “Re-SHOYSH”… with bonus points if you can roll the R.
Bela is our Director of Sales, and she has been a treasured part of the Gateway Family for a long time. When I asked her to submit a recipe she happily brought me some Ressois to taste (and photograph). I suggested she might need a career change so I have a place to buy the delicate meaty bites of heaven regularly. She didn’t seem too keen to give up her job, so we’ll all have to make do with the recipe.
This is a somewhat complicated recipe, but there are no cooking techniques that require advanced skill, so if you read carefully and go one step at a time, anyone can make and enjoy these tasty meat turnovers. This is also a great make-ahead recipe, so you can make a lot, store them in the freezer and fry them up as you need them.
Portuguese Ressois:
FILLING:
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup chorizo (chopped up)
1/2 cup chopped bacon
2 lightly beaten egg yolks
1 Tbsp flour, dissolved in a bit of cold water.
Saute onion and garlic in olive oil and butter until they have softened. Add ground beef, ground pork, chorizo and chopped bacon. Brown all the meat, breaking it apart and mixing it together with the onions and garlic. Once the meat is fully cooked, remove from heat and stir in the egg yolks and flour and water mixture. Set aside to cool.
DOUGH:
1 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
pinch of salt
2 heaping cups of flour
Sift flour into a bowl and set aside. Lay a clean (lint free) tea towel on the counter and dust with more flour.
Combine the water and milk in a medium-sized pot and gently bring to a boil, stirring to prevent scorching. Once the liquid has come to a boil, stir in the butter and salt, (remove from heat?) and add all the flour in the bowl at once.
Using a strong spoon, fold the flour into the liquid mixture until it turns into a dough (Bela says this part will test your arm muscles, so be prepared). Once the mixture has reached dough-like consistency, dump it onto the tea towel and then, using the towel, knead the dough (it will be very hot, so the tea towel helps). Cover and set aside to cool.
ASSEMBLY:
Cut off a manageable piece of cooled dough and roll out as thinly as possible. Take a teaspoon full of filling, place it near the edge of the dough, fold the dough over and with a medium-sized glass, cut the dough (with the filling inside) to make small moon-shaped turnovers. Continue until you have used up all the filling and dough, re-rolling dough scraps when necessary. (Should make 6-7 dozen).
BREADING:
Whisk 2-3 eggs in a shallow dish, and pour breadcrumbs onto another plate. Working with one hand for the egg mixture, and the other for the breadcrumbs, dip the ressois first into the egg, and then into the breadcrumbs. Lay them onto a baking sheet, and freeze. Once frozen, you can either fry them or transfer to a Ziploc bag to be fried at a later date.
FRYING:
Ressois MUST be fried from frozen. Using a deep fryer, heat a mild-flavoured oil on high, (If you’re using a pot and a deep-fry thermometer, heat oil to 375F). Working in batches of 6-8, carefully drop ressois into the oil, cooking for approximately 2 minutes until golden brown. Scoop them out of the oil and drain on a heat-proof dish lined with paper towels to absorb any extra oil.
Let cool until they won’t burn your tongue (it’ll be hard to wait) and enjoy!
At Gateway Kitchen + Bath we love to build as much as we love to eat! Serving Manitoba, Canada, we specialize in top-notch renovations and custom cabinetry. To learn more about us, check out our website, or if you’re interested in what we do and want to discuss a project, schedule an appointment with one of our talented designers!