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Tunisia, Middle East and Africa · Brik

Shrimp and Tuna Brik with Harissa Aioli

A restaurant-style brik: butter-seared shrimp, tuna and preserved lemon around a whole egg, folded into a triangle, fried crisp and served with harissa aioli.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time48 min
DifficultyHard
About servingsThe yolk comes out runny. For young children, pregnant women, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system, break the yolk into the filling or fry 1 to 2 minutes longer until fully set. Cook the shrimp until pink before they go into the filling, and use shop-bought mayonnaise (made with pasteurised egg).

Method

  1. Peel the potato, cut into 2 cm pieces and put in a 16 cm pot with water. Bring to the boil on high heat, lower to medium heat and cook for . Drain, return to the heat briefly to dry, then mash finely and let cool.

    Add in this stepPotato 80 g

    high heat→medium heat

  2. Devein the shrimp and cut into 1 cm pieces; finely chop the shallot. Melt the butter in a 20 cm pan on medium-high heat and sauté the shallot and shrimp for just , until the shrimp have only just turned pink. Spread them out on a plate to cool at once. They cook again in the frying, so fully cooking them now makes them rubbery.

    Add in this stepButter 10 gRaw shrimp, peeled 80 gShallot 20 g

    medium-high heat

  3. Gently mix the cooled potato with the shrimp, well-drained tuna, preserved lemon rind, chopped parsley and cilantro, capers, cheese, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust. A cold filling keeps the pastry crisp.

    Add in this stepTuna in olive oil, drained 50 gPreserved lemon rind, chopped 1 tspFlat-leaf parsley 6 gFresh cilantro (coriander) 4 gCapers 2 tspGruyère, grated 20 gSalt 1 pinchBlack pepper 1 pinch

  4. Harissa aioli: mix the mayonnaise with the harissa, finely grated garlic and the juice of part of the lemon, and chill. Cut the rest of the lemon into wedges.

    Add in this stepMayonnaise 2 tbspHarissa 1 tspGarlic cloves ½Lemon ⅛

  5. Pour the frying oil about 1 cm deep into a 24 cm pan and heat on medium-high heat for to 180 °C; a cube of bread should turn golden in about 30 seconds. Keep water away and stay with the pan.

    Add in this stepOil for frying (sunflower or similar) 450 ml

    medium-high heat

  6. Assemble each one just before frying. Lay a pastry sheet flat and spread the filling in the centre in a round wall, leaving a hollow. Crack the egg into a cup first to check the yolk is whole, then pour it into the hollow. Fold two opposite sides of the circle in to make a wide band, then fold it in half into a rough triangle and press the edges to seal. Go slowly so the egg doesn't run out.

    Add in this stepBrik pastry sheets (about 30 cm rounds) 2Eggs (very fresh) 2

  7. Slide the brik into the oil and fry on medium-high heat for in total, turning once and basting the top constantly with a spoon; the basting oil sets the white on top. Fry one at a time, ×2.

    medium-high heat

  8. Drain on the rack for 30 seconds, plate and serve immediately with the harissa aioli and lemon wedges.

    Add in this stepLemon 0.4

Cook's tip

Frozen shrimp are fine, but pat them very dry after thawing or the filling turns wet. No preserved lemon? Use lemon zest. If the triangle fold feels tricky, fold into a half-moon as in the classic recipe.

Cooking it at camp

Sauté the shrimp and make the filling at home and keep it cold in the cooler. At the campsite, use a wide pan with just 5 mm of oil over medium heat and fry each side carefully. Mix the aioli ahead too and bring it in a small tub.