Stuffed pistolette rolls, baked or deep fried, crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside and filled with a creamy shrimp or crawfish sauce.
Baked Shrimp Stuffed Pistolettes
Lawdy mercy, are those good.
Remember those pistolette rolls that I made the other day? Well, I specifically set aside a couple of them so that I could make some stuffed pistolettes. And I gotta tell ya, those rolls are so darned good, it sure wasn't easy to keep any until I got around to these! When I make a batch of them they never last long. Thank goodness they are so easy to make!
Anyway, I had fully intended to do these stuffed pistolettes on Friday, but The Cajun and I were out and about running and we ended up making simple fish sandwiches that night instead, so I just got around to these today.
Stuffed pistolettes can enclose just about anything, but typically down here along the Coast it is seafood and most often, shrimp or crawfish. Both are equally delicious. By the way, this filling is also excellent over hot rice or pasta, which since I didn't have a dozen rolls left, I will be doing.
At fairs and festivals, stuffed pistolettes are most often deep fried ... what else! We are in the south after all, aren't we? Some fry the pistolette bread shell and then stuff it; others fry the whole thing after it is stuffed. Of course frying produces a very crispy crust, but I'm of the same mindset as I am with the Natchitoches Meat Pies, that those folks must have those great heavy duty professional fryers, so at home, I prefer to bake mine and believe me, they are excellent baked.
You can use store bought French rolls, or make your own pistolette rolls, and you can remove as little or as much of the inside of the bread as you like. The more you remove, the more filling you can stuff into one of course! Take care not to cut through or puncture the outside of the bread though, because if you do the filling will leak out and ruin the whole thing.
These make a great lunch item, snack item or paired with some veggies, are even great as a dinner entree. Perfect for Lent too! Here's how to make them.
First, peel, devein, rinse and drain a pound of fresh raw shrimp. Set aside.
Finely chop the onion, celery and bell pepper.
And place into a skillet with 2 tablespoons of melted butter to saute. Cook until veggies are tender.
Finely chop the green onion, garlic and parsley.
And add that to the veggie mixture and cook for just a bit longer to soften.
Add the cream of mushroom soup and Velvetta.
And the seasonings...
...1/2 a small jar of pimentos, drained, 10 turns of the pepper grinder, a teaspoon of Cajun seasoning, and a few dashes of hot sauce.
Cook and stir over medium low simmer until well incorporated and cheese has melted.
Rough chop the shrimp.
And add that to the mixture, stir in and cook over low simmer for about 10 minutes.
Time to prepare the pistolette rolls!
Cut the tips of the rolls off, taking care to keep the pieces close to each other so it will be easier to match them back up to the right partner!
Hollow out the insides of the bread as much or as little as you like, but take care not to cut through or puncture the outside crust of the bread.
Save those scraps! They are perfect for croutons, bread crumbs, or bread pudding - just stick them in a freezer bag for later.
Continue cooking and stirring the shrimp mixture. Once the shrimp begins to turn pink, remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
Spoon the filling into the pistolette rolls.
Prepare a slurry of flour and water - 1 tablespoon of flour to 3 tablespoons of water.
Brush the outside edges of the stuffed bread with the slurry.
And also brush it around the edges of the bread tip.
Press the bread back together and place on a baking sheet.
Brush the tops of the bread with melted butter... ntil golden brown.
...and bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.
Serve hot! Now that's some good eatin'!
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