Savory shrimp baskets, with savory shortcrust pastry: the shrimp appetizer perfect for parties, original and theatrical — ideal for a seafood-based New Year’s Eve dinner and great to add to our collection of Make-Ahead Fish Appetizers, or to our Christmas Appetizers to Impress. These are delicious soft and crumbly savory shortcrust pastry baskets, filled with a foolproof mayonnaise made at home, but without raw eggs, blanched shrimp and arugula. A truly rich, tasty, theatrical and on the whole easy appetizer that will win you over at the first bite! Let’s go to the kitchen now, but before seeing the recipe I remind you that if you want to stay updated on all my recipes you can follow my Facebook page (here) and my Instagram profile (here).
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 12
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Christmas, New Year's Eve
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (or spreadable cheese)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- 3.5 tbsp sunflower oil
- to taste salt
- to taste lemon juice (about 1–2 tbsp (20–30 ml))
- sugar
- 7/8 cup fine durum wheat semolina
- 1 1/4 cup 00 flour (all-purpose flour)
- salt
- 1/3 tsp baking powder (for savory or sweet tarts, but without flavorings)
- 1 egg (large or slightly bigger)
- 2/3 cup butter
- 14 oz shrimp (fresh or frozen, already cleaned)
- to taste arugula
- to taste pomegranate (seeds)
Tools
- Muffin tin
- Paper liners
- Oven
- Round cutter
Preparation
Let’s start with the foolproof mayonnaise. Cook the eggs by immersing them in cold water and counting 10 minutes from boiling, then drain, shell and let them cool slightly. Put them in the blender jar together with the yogurt (or spreadable cheese for a milder flavor), salt, sugar, oil and lemon juice. Blend until you obtain the smoothest, most homogeneous sauce you can—much will depend on your blender’s power. Transfer the foolproof mayonnaise to a bowl and refrigerate until completely cooled and slightly thickened. Meanwhile, prepare the shortcrust pastry.
Place the two flours in the blender jar, add the cold butter, the egg, salt and baking powder. Blend for a few seconds, until you obtain a crumbly mixture; if the mixture is too dry, add a little of an egg white mixed with yolk from another egg (about 1 tablespoon).
Turn everything out onto the work surface and work until you form a compact dough ball. Let it rest for 10 minutes covered with plastic wrap, then roll the dough on a floured surface to a sheet just under 1/5 inch thick (just under 0.5 cm).
With a 10 cm (about 4 in) round cutter, or a flower-shaped cutter like mine, cut out rounds or flower shapes and place them into the muffin molds, shaping them to form little baskets.
Place a paper liner in each, fill with dried legumes for weight, and bake in a conventional oven at 356°F for 15–20 minutes. Halfway through baking remember to remove the chickpeas so the center of the baskets also bakes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before unmolding.
Meanwhile, blanch the shrimp for a few minutes in lightly salted water, drain, let cool and season with oil, salt and a little lemon juice. Mix and set aside a few shrimp for decoration, then add the foolproof mayonnaise to the rest and mix again.
Garnish the baskets with the shrimp sauce you just made, arugula, one shrimp and a few pomegranate seeds.
Storage and tips
Store the prepared pastry bases in a cool, dry place inside an airtight container until you use them (up to about twenty days maximum). The foolproof mayonnaise can be kept in the fridge for up to 48 hours, 24 hours if you have already added the shrimp. Our completed baskets can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours, covered with plastic wrap, and can therefore be prepared in advance.
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