Apple, Fig, and Raisin Rissoles

Golden brown fried pastries filled with a fruit and spice paste

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City/Region: Paris

Time Period: c. 1393

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Fast food has been around since the Middle Ages, and while a lot has changed in food production and cooking in the last six hundred years or so, then, as now, you could get a fried apple pie.

Rissoles were fried filled pastries (modern versions are usually some kind of filling rolled in breadcrumbs and fried), and they could be made savory or sweet. These ones are made with roasted apples, raisins, figs, and sweet spices. I chose cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, but you can choose whatever spices you like.

“It is common that rissoles are made of figs, raisins, roast apples, and nuts peeled to imitate pine nuts, and powder of spices [and a little fine salt]; and let the paste be well saffroned and then let them be fried in oil [and sugar them].”

— Le Ménagier de Paris, c. 1393

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Ingredients:

Dough

• A pinch of saffron
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
• 2 1/2 cups (300 g) flour
• 12 tablespoons (170 g) butter, cut into small cubes

Filling

• 1/2 cup (120 g) dried figs
• 1/4 cup (30 g) raisins
• 1 cup (240 ml) sweet wine, optional, more or less as needed*
• 6 medium apples, whatever you like
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (60 g) chopped walnuts, almonds, or hazelnuts

Frying and Finishing

• Lard or oil, for frying, enough for 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) in a deep pot
• Sugar, for sprinkling

*You need enough to cover the raisins and chopped figs in step 5. You can use water instead of the wine.

Instructions:

1. For the dough: Add the saffron to the water and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
2. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Work the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it’s all incorporated and you have a nice sandy texture. A few slightly larger pea-sized pieces of butter are okay.
3. Strain the saffron out of the water and add the water to the flour mixture. Quickly work it in until it forms a dough, then form it into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap or a damp towel and put it in the fridge to rest while you make the filling.
4. For the filling: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
5. Chop the dried figs into about raisin-sized pieces, then combine them with the raisins. Cover them with the sweet wine or with water and let them soak for about 1 hour.
6. Core the apples and cut them in half. Set them on a lined baking sheet cut side up and bake for 30 minutes or until they’re nice and soft. Let them cool.
7. Chop the apples into small pieces just like the figs.
8. Whisk together the spices, sugar, and salt.
9. After the figs and raisins have soaked for an hour, drain them. In a large bowl, combine them with the chopped apples and the sugar and spice mixture and toss them all together.
10. In a food processor (or a mortar and pestle for extra authenticity), grind the filling mixture until you have a coarse paste. Stir the nuts in.
11. To assemble: Divide the rested dough into 12 equal pieces and roll them into balls.
12. On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of the dough into a rough circle about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.
13. Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the dough, making sure to leave plenty of space around it. The goal is to have a filled pastry, but not so full that the fruit leaks out. Use more or less filling as you see fit.
14. Fold the dough into a half circle over the filling, then press the edges of the dough together. If you’d like, you can trim the sealed edge of the dough so that it’s a nice uniform half circle, but this isn’t necessary. Take a fork and use the tines to crimp and seal the dough together around the edge. Set the rissole aside and repeat with the rest of the dough. These can really be any shape you like, but I found the half circles to be the easiest.
15. To fry: Heat 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) of lard or oil in a deep pot to 350°F (175°C).
16. Carefully place 3 to 4 rissoles at a time in the fat and fry for about 5 minutes. Keep them moving often, or they might burn to the bottom of the pot. When they’re a nice golden brown, remove them to a wire rack over some paper towel to drain. Sprinkle them with sugar while they’re still hot, then serve them forth.

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