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Cheesy Crab Turnovers

These small individual pies pair delicate crabmeat with ricotta cheese and lemon, great for a party or just for a family treat! The turnovers can be prepared small–for bite-size pastries–or larger for knife-and-fork eating. Frozen puff pastry is widely available in supermarkets and is a great short cut in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces crabmeat
• 3/4 cup ricotta cheese, preferably reduced-fat
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 package (1 lb.) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds

Cooking Instructions:

In a medium bowl, combine the crabmeat, ricotta, Parmesan, green onion, lemon juice, lemon zest and pepper. (Keep in mind that the cheese and crab are salty, so salt may not be needed.) Stir to mix well and taste for seasoning. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Roll out half of the thawed puff pastry dough to a 12-inch square. Using a knife, cut the dough into four 6-inch squares or nine 4-inch squares. Spoon crab filling in the center of one dough square (about 2 1/2 Tbsp. for large squares, 2 tsp. for small squares).With a small pastry brush, lightly brush 2 edges of the square with water. Fold one corner of dough over the filling to the opposite corner, forming a triangle. Using the tines of a fork, press down around the edges of the dough to seal. Set the turnover on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

In a small bowl, combine the egg white with a large pinch of salt and whisk with a fork. Lightly brush the top of each turnover with some of the egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the preheated oven until puffed and nicely browned, 12 to 15 minutes for small turnovers, 18 to 20 minutes for large turnovers. Let cool slightly before serving.

Raw to Cooked

All of these recipes require pre-cooking the seafood before assembling the tart or pie. This may seem an unnecessary step given that the seafood bakes a second time with the prepared dish, but don't be tempted to eliminate pre-cooking. Raw seafood used in these recipes would give off a good deal of liquid as they cook, making the fillings water and doughs soggy. Keep in mind that because liquid is released during cooking, 1 pound of raw fish will weigh less than 1 pound when cooked. How much less depends on the type of seafood and the cooking method, but the loss will generally be a few ounces per pound. So, if you need 1 pound cooked, flaked fish, consider buying 1 1/4 pounds raw fish (1 1/2 pounds if the fish has skin and/or a lot of bone).

Servings Per Recipe: 6 to 8 Cal. 403/Total fat 22g/Sat. 7g/Chol. 28mg/Sdm. 382mg/Carbo. 38g/Prot. 15g/ Om-3 .1g