Crab in Tarragon Cream With Puff Pastry Shells

As I have previously mentioned, my mom went on a grocery shopping spree. She went a little overboard with buying mangoes, limes, and crab. In my last post I gave my mom's delicious recipe for Crab Cakes. My mom created the following recipe as a way to use up the rest of her crab meat.It was creamy and bold, like an elegant crab pot pie. The peppers and peas made it fresh and bright. The Pepperidge Farm puff pastry crusts, flaky and easy to bake, gave something to soak up all of the delicious juices. This recipe is a Maureen original and if you love crab as much as we do this recipe is a must-try!

Ingredients for Crab in Tarragon Cream with Puff Pastry Shells-  6 servings

Vegetables prepped in the Marinade Express: 

  1 small red pepper

  8 oz. mushrooms

  1 c. fresh shelled peas

  1/4 C. fresh tarragon leaves (or 2 Tb. dried)

1 small red onion, diced

2 Tb. butter or oil for sauteing

1 lb. lump crab meat

3 Tb. butter 

3 Tb. flour 

1 C. vegetable broth

1 C. light cream or Half & Half

2 beaten egg yolks

12 Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry shells.

Directions: 

1.Using the Express unflavored MX marinade and both divider ribs, place the red pepper and mushrooms on one side of the divider ribs and the fresh peas and fresh tarragon leaves on the other side. Rotate for 4 minutes.Remove from the drum and pat dry.Set the peas and tarragon leaves aside. 

2. Dice the red pepper, mushrooms and red onion and gently saute them in butter or oil until softened. Set them aside.

3. Using your choice of the Garlic Butter, Garlic and Herb, or unflavored MX Marinade mix, prep the crab meat in the Marinade Express, placing the crab meat in a mesh lingerie bag dedicated for cooking use, if desired. Use both divider ribs.Give the crab 3 or 4 rotations in the appliance, then let it rest, atop the dividers, out of the liquid for about 10 minutes. Then open the drum and carefully remove the crab. If you did not use a mesh bag, you may want to use a colander to avoid losing any of the crab meat. Refrigerate the crab as you prepare the other ingredients.

4. In a deep heavy saucepan, melt the 3 Tb. butter over low heat. Gradually stir in the 3 Tb. flour and cook for 3 minutes. Slowly stir in the 1 C. vegetable broth. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon or wire whisk until thickened and smooth. Slowly stir in the 1 C. light cream and heat through. Add a small amount of the heated sauce to the 2 beaten egg yolks, stirring, then add the mixture to the remainder of the heated sauce, stirring until the sauce thickens. Add the peas, crab meat, sauteed mushrooms, red pepper and onion. Snip the fresh tarragon leaves and stir them in, until all ingredients are heated through.

5. Prepare the frozen puff pastry shells according to package directions, and ladle the crab sauce over the shells and serve immediately.