Crab and avocado choux puffs recipe

Details

• Cuisine: French
• Recipe Type: Canapé
• Difficulty: Medium
• Preparation Time: 45 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Serves: 5

Step-by-step

For the Parmesan craquelin

1. Mix the butter, Parmesan and flour together in a bowl to make a smooth dough.
2. Roll out very thinly between 2 sheets of parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes.
3. Cut out 10 discs using an 8 cm (3 in) round cookie cutter.

For the choux puffs

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/340°F/gas mark 3 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Heat the water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan until the butter melts.
3. Bring to a fast boil, remove from the heat, and add all the flour at once. Beat vigorously with a spatula until smooth. Return the saucepan to a low heat and stir constantly for two minutes to dry out the mixture.
4. Let cool, then gradually beat in the eggs until smooth and glossy.
5. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe 8 cm (3 in) mounds onto the baking sheet, using up all the pastry – you should have enough for 10.
6. Place a Parmesan disc on each one and bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Let cool completely on a rack before filling.

For the charcoal shortbread discs

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/340°F/gas mark 3 and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Using a stand mixer, or by hand, beat all the ingredients until they come together into a dough.
2. Roll out thinly between two sheets of parchment paper and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Cut out 10 discs using a 5 cm (2 in) round cookie cutter, place on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.

For the crab and avocado purée

1. Peel and halve the avocados and remove the pits. Using a melon baller, scoop out 10 avocado 'marbles' for garnish.
2. Scoop the remaining flesh into a food processor, add the lime juice and process to a purée.
3. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the cream using a spatula. Stir in the crab flakes, piment d’Espelette (or paprika), lime zest and a little salt.
4. Adjust the seasonings as needed and transfer to a second pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

To serve

1. Peel and segment the grapefruit and thinly slice the onions crosswise.
2. Julienne the daikon radish by cutting it into long, thin, matchstick-shaped pieces.
3. Pierce holes in the base of each choux puff and pipe in the crab and avocado purée.
4. Place upside-down (with the hole facing upward) on serving plates. Affix the charcoal discs on top with a little of the purée.
5. Garnish each puff with the flaked crab meat, an avocado marble, a grapefruit segment, a shallot slice, and some daikon radish, garlic flowers, coriander (cilantro), and red-veined sorrel leaves.

Recipe adapted from Charcuterie: Pâtés, Terrines, Savory Pies by Ferrandi Paris (Flammarion, 2023). Photography by Rina Nurra.