The Royal Chef At Home: Easy Seasonal Entertaining

CRAB BEIGNETS

THIS RECIPE USES A PATE A CHOUX DOUGH THAT, WHEN DONE RIGHT, USES THE POWER OF STEAM TO PUFF UP, WHETHER IN THE OVEN, HOT OIL OR BOILING WATER. The dough has no special leavening agents; it’s just made from water, milk, butter, flour, salt, sugar and eggs. The combination of crab, Old Bay and a touch of Gruyere also means you will never have leftovers, no matter the size of the party. MAKES 30 CANAPÉ SIZE

1 1 cups water 4 ounces butter (1 stick)

1 pound lump crab (fresh or canned) 4 ounces Gruyere cheese—grated Salt and pepper to taste Old Bay seasoning—to taste 2-3 cups neutral vegetable oil (for frying)

1 cup all purpose flour, sifted—(This is one of those recipes where sifting is fairly important You want to avoid any clumps in your dough ) 4 eggs, room temperature

1 Put the water and butter in a pan and bring to a boil, melting the butter completely. Once it comes to a full simmer, quickly add the flour, remove the pan from the heat and stir with a wooden spoon until the flour is incorporated and the mixture leaves the sides of the pan, about a minute or two. You may notice a slight film forming at the bottom of the pan, a good indicator that the dough is dry. Remove the dough from the stove and set it aside to cool for a minute. 2 Begin adding the eggs. Transfer the dough to a mixer fitted with a standard paddle attachment (you can also do this by hand, transferring the dough to a larger bowl and using a wooden spoon). On low speed, begin stirring the dough and add the first egg. Immediately the

dough will break up, become shiny and make slapping noises against the side of the bowl. Continue mixing and the dough will start to come together and lose that shiny look. When that happens, it is time to add the second egg. Proceed like this with each egg, until all four have been added. While the mixture is still warm, fold in the cheese, lumps of crab and season well with Old Bay, salt and pepper. 3 In a sauce pan or small wok, heat the oil to 350ºF. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture measuring about a 1 ½ tablespoons each into the oil and cook until golden, about 3-4 minutes. Don’t crowd the pan and fry the fritters in batches. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

144 THE ROYAL CHEF AT HOME