Cilantro and prawn briouats

A briouat is completely intertwined with Moroccan cuisine. It is essentially a small parcel, usually triangular in shape, filled with both sweet or savoury fillings. They grace every table or can be had as a snack and are omnipresent in Morocco. Derived from the Arabic word "baryuṭah," meaning "small package" or "parcel," Briouat captures the essence of Moroccan culinary finesse in a single bite-sized masterpiece. The sweet briouats are filled with nuts, dried fruit and sugar and served as dessert, and the savoury briouats are filled with meat and/or vegetables. The traditional pastry is the very delicate "warqa", but today, filo pastry is commonly substituted. The briouat is the perfect fusion of culinary cultures. The pastry comes from the French occupation of Morocco, and the fillings are always local flavours, bringing the two classics together in perfect harmony.

These are lovely pastries, delicate and unassuming. The prawns are lightly flavoured with the green chermoula, with extra on the side, of course. They are easy to pop in and addictive, so serving them as an appetizer is dangerous as your guests will fill up on them.

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Ingredients:

For the Chermoula:

2 tablespoons ground cumin seeds

1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon spicy paprika

1 tablespoon ground ginger

3 cloves garlic

1 serrano chilli

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Salt, to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 shallots, sliced

2 tablespoons Chermoula

1/2 lb small prawns, roughly chopped

Salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, minced

2 tablespoons mint leaves, chopped

Phyllo pastry sheets

Butter, melted

Add all the ingredients for the Chermoula to a blender and purée to a smooth paste. Taste for salt and spice and adjust as needed. The Chermoula should be smoky and bold.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the shallots and fry on low heat until very lightly golden, about 1 minute. Add the Chermoula and cook until the sauce thickens, about 1 minute more.

Add the prawns, salt and pepper and cook until the sauce is completely evaporated and the Chermoula sticks to the prawns. All the water should be evaporated, or it will make the phyllo pastry mushy. Set aside to cool. When cold, add the cilantro and mint and mix in well.

Cut the phyllo pastry sheet into a rectangle 2 inches by 9 inches. To 2 layers of the phyllo pastry, add 3/4-1 tablespoon of the shrimp mix to the pastry at the bottom. Fold it into a triangle and follow the triangular folding pattern to the end, creating a tight triangular packet. Brush with melted butter. Repeat until all the prawn mix is complete; you should have about 15 briouats.

Heat the oven to 375° F.

Heat the remaining chermoula sauce, but don't let it boil. Pour it into a small bowl.

Bake the briouats for 8-20 minutes until golden. Serve immediately with the sauce on the side.