In season

May produce

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Crawfish Pies

Crawfish Pies

A Louisiana hand pie, the Cajun answer to a Cornish pasty and the snack you'd buy at a Lafayette festival booth alongside a beer. You make a flaky shortcrust enriched with a little butter and lard (or all butter if you'd rather), cold and rested. The filling is a small batch of crawfish étouffée: a blond roux first, then the trinity of onion, celery and bell pepper, garlic, tomato, Cajun spice, stock and crawfish tails, simmered down until thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. Cool the filling completely so it can be spooned into pastry circles, folded into half-moons, crimped sharp at the edge, brushed with egg wash and either deep-fried or baked. The fried version is the classic, with the pastry blistered amber-gold and the filling steaming inside. Eaten warm from the paper with a dab of remoulade and a cold drink.

Snacks 1 hour 45 minutes Serves12
Kanom Jeeb

Kanom Jeeb

A filling of minced pork and chopped prawn binds with coriander root (pounded with garlic and white pepper into the traditional Thai "rak pak chee" paste), oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and a beaten egg. The mixture chills for 20 minutes to firm. Square wonton wrappers go around the filling cupcake-style: filling in the centre, edges pulled up and pleated open around the meat, top brushed with a tiny smear of beaten egg and topped with a thin slice of carrot. Steamed in a bamboo basket over boiling water for 8 minutes. Dip is black soy sauce with sliced chilli and rice vinegar.

Snacks 40 minutes Serves4