Junior League Seafood Tarts Recipes

JUNIOR LEAGUE - CRAB CAKES WITH AVOCADO SAUCE

Steps:

• For the Avocado Sauce, combine the avocado, sour cream, cilantro, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth. Chill, covered, until serving time.
• For the crab cakes, reserve half the bell peppers and half the scallions for the garnish. Combine the remaining bell peppers, remaining scallions, cilantro, crab meat, salt, pepper, thyme and Tabasco sauce in a bowl and mix gently. Stir in the mayonnaise. Add the bread crumbs and toss lightly.
• Shape the mixture into 3 inch patties. Handle the mixture gently, as it should barely adhere. Sauté the crab cakes in a nonstick skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until golden brown on both sides.
• Puddle some of the Avocado Sauce in the center of each serving plate. Arrange 1 crab cake on each plate. Sprinkle with the reserved bell peppers and reserved scallions. Serve immediately.

QUICK'N'EASY SEAFOOD TARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375F; arrange tart shells on a baking sheet.
• Into each shell, place 2 tsp of your favourite seafood; this recipe will also work with chopped ham, chopped asparagus etc, so use your imagination!
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, egg and mustard; I like to also add the fresh dill because I like its taste, but leave it out or substitute if you don't want dill.
• Distribute cream mixture evenly among the tarts and then bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden and"custard" is set.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

SPINACH QUICHE TARTS

Steps:

• Line 3 tart tins with pastry.
• Brush pastry with 2 tbsp.
• melted butter and refrigerate for 30 minutes before filling.
• Add 1 teaspoon of drained spinach to each shell.
• Top each tart with cheese.
• Beat 3 eggs and 1 cup half and half cream.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Spread 1 tablespoon of mixture into tart shells.
• Bake at 375° for 20 to 25 minutes.

SUMMER FRUIT BOWL TARTLETS

Steps:

• To make the crème pâtissière, pour the milk into a pan. Split vanilla pod down its length using a small sharp knife (do not cut in half completely). Twist tip of the knife inside the pod to open out like a book at one end, then run the knife down its length to scrape out seeds. (See step 1)
• Put the seeds and empty pod in a medium-sized pan with the milk and bring slowly to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a couple of mins. (Step 2)
• Put egg yolks, sugar and flour into a bowl. Whisk with a hand electric mixer until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy - it should leave a trail that stays on the surface momentarily when the whisk blades are lifted. This whisking will take about 2 mins. (Step 3)
• Pour about a third of the hot milk into the bowl, whisking on a slow speed all the time until it has all been mixed in. Now whisk in the remaining milk, removing pod. (Step 4)
• Return the mixture to the pan, scraping it out of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time, until the custard is thickened, smooth and glossy. At first, it will look a bit lumpy, but persevere - keep stirring and it will become smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 mins, stirring. (Step 5)
• Remove the crème pâtissière from the heat. Beat in the butter until it has melted, then scrape into a bowl. Cover the surface of the crème pâtissière directly with cling film (this will stop a skin forming). Leave to cool, then chill in the fridge until needed. (Step 6)
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Divide the pastry into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each one to line a 7-8cm deep fluted tartlet tin, trim leaving a little pastry sticking up above the tin. Line each one with a paper cake case and add a layer of baking beans. Put on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 5 mins until the pastry is crisp and golden.
• Trim any pastry edges that need it with a small sharp knife. Remove from the tins and leave to cool on a wire rack.
• Halve or quarter any large strawberries and remove the stalks from any redcurrants, then mix the fruits together. Fill the pastry cases with crème pâtissière and pile a generous layer of fruits on top. Dust thickly with icing sugar and scatter over some chopped pistachios, if you like.