Crabmeat And Baby Asparagus Napoleons

By á-170456

Ingredients

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
• 1 egg beaten with
• 1 teaspoon milk for egg wash
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 6 saffron threads
• 1 cup crème fraiche or sour cream
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon minced chives
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 pound jumbo lump crabmeat picked over
• to remove any cartilage and shell
• 1 ounce Sevruga caviar
• Salt to taste
• Freshly-ground black pepper to taste
• 24 baby asparagus spears trimmed, and lightly steamed until tender
• Halved red grape tomatoes for garnish
• Chives for garnish

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out each sheet of pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 10-inch square. Cut out 3 (3- by 5-inch) rectangles and paint with the egg glaze. Transfer to lightly greased cookie sheet and bake until puffed and brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, gently heat the white wine. Remove from the heat and stir in the saffron. Let infuse for 10 minutes, then strain the wine into a clean bowl. Stir the crème fraiche into the saffron wine, and set aside.

In a bowl combine the mayonnaise, chives and lemon juice, and stir well. Fold in the crabmeat, and then gently fold in the caviar, being careful not to break the eggs. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Split each pastry into 2 layers. Place 1 layer on each of 4 plates. Spread a layer of crabmeat salad on top of the pastry, and lay 3 asparagus spears on top. Drizzle a bit of saffron crème fraiche over the asparagus, then top with pastry, and continue layering, ending with a layer of pastry on top. Drizzle saffron crème fraiche over the pastry layer, and continue with the remaining 3 servings. (Each napoleon will have 2 crabmeat and asparagus layers, and 3 pastry layers.)

Serve garnished with grape tomatoes and chives.

This recipe yields 4 servings.