Recipe: Crab Feuilleté
Here's a food and wine pairing that's easy to make and guaranteed to impress your fall dinner party guests (ours definitely were!) The recipe is from French Country Cooking, a beautiful cookbook by Mimi Thorisson - pick up your copy for more of her amazing recipes.
Pairs with: Regent 2011 White (in our Fall Discovery Pack!)
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces / 230 g frozen puff pastry, thawed½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon / 15 g unsalted butter
2 shallots, thinly sliced
¾ cup / 180 ml crème fraîche
½ pound / 230 g picked crabmeat
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 granny smith apple
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 bunch of fresh tender herb leaves, such as chervil, basil, or parsley
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Roll out the puff pastry slightly and cut out 4 rounds 3 to 5 inches / 7.5 to 12.5 cm in diameter. Prick the pastry all over with a fork, place on the lined baking sheet, leaving room between the rounds, and cover with another piece of parchment paper. Set a second baking sheet on top to keep the pastry from puffing up too much. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the second baking sheet and the top sheet of parchment paper and bake until golden, another 5 minutes. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.
3. In a small bowl, dissolve the saffron threads in 2 teaspoons hot water.
4. In a sauté pan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Set aside to cool. Add the crème fraîche, saffron (along with the liquid), and crabmeat and season with salt and pepper.
5. Slice the apple very thinly, preferably using a mandoline. Rub the apple slices with the lemon juice to keep them from discoloring.
6. Arrange a few slices of apple on top of each round of pastry, creating a flower shape, then spoon the crab mixture on top and decorate with the herb leaves. Sprinkle some nigella seeds all over and serve.