This shrimp appetizer is easy to do and looks quite impressive. Perfect for a romantic occasion, or the beginning of an elegant meal. To serve 4:
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- A half-pound (225 g) sheet commercially prepared puff pastry dough, thawed if need be
- 1/2 pound (225 g) shelled deveined shrimp -- you'll want little ones
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 2 sprigs fresh dill, chopped
- An egg yolk
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 small cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 2 spring onions, roots trimmed, washed well, and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Heat your oven to 450 F (225 C). In the meantime, unroll the sheet of puff pastry. Italian commercially prepared puff pastry comes rolled around a sheet of oven parchment, if yours came in block form or you made your own from scratch, roll it out about 1/4-inch thick (7 mm) and put it on a sheet of oven parchment.
Cut the sheet into 4 squares and puncture them with a fork.
Combine the egg yolk and the milk in a bowl and beat the mixture for a minute with the fork.
Brush the puff pastry with the egg mixture. Transfer the parchment and pastry to a cookie sheet and bake the puff pastry for about 10 minutes.
While the puff pastry is baking, heat the oil and butter in a saucepan. Sauté the garlic and the spring onions for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, over a brisk flame for another minute. Add the wine and continue cooking for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat.
Fish out and discard the garlic. Dust the shrimp with the chopped dill, and season them with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the puff pastry from the oven and put the pieces on four pretty plates. Distribute the shrimp evenly over the puff pastry, spoon the pan juices over them, and serve at once, with a good bottle of brute bubbly. I might go with a Prosecco, which won't overwhelm the dish.
Cut the sheet into 4 squares and puncture them with a fork.
Combine the egg yolk and the milk in a bowl and beat the mixture for a minute with the fork.
Brush the puff pastry with the egg mixture. Transfer the parchment and pastry to a cookie sheet and bake the puff pastry for about 10 minutes.
While the puff pastry is baking, heat the oil and butter in a saucepan. Sauté the garlic and the spring onions for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, over a brisk flame for another minute. Add the wine and continue cooking for 2 minutes more. Turn off the heat.
Fish out and discard the garlic. Dust the shrimp with the chopped dill, and season them with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the puff pastry from the oven and put the pieces on four pretty plates. Distribute the shrimp evenly over the puff pastry, spoon the pan juices over them, and serve at once, with a good bottle of brute bubbly. I might go with a Prosecco, which won't overwhelm the dish.
