Recipes Open-Faced Crab Empanadas 4.0 (1,996) 1 Review José Andrés says: "I love America! Without a doubt, one of my favorite American ingredients is blue crabs, a true delicacy! And a great value, I think." This recipe is his twist on the traditional Basque txangurro (crab simmered with tomato), crossed with a Galician empanada (a savory pie). "Part of my efforts to build a bridge between America and Spain," he explains. More Crab Dishes By José Andrés José Andrés F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Superstar Spanish chef José Andrés tells Food & Wine about his passion for paella, cooking à la plancha and why chopsticks are the perfect kitchen tool. What’s your most requested recipe, the one dish you’re most known for? More and more, my paella. I’ve also been making a big push for it over the past year—I truly believe everyone in America will know how to make paella within the next 50 years, and will cook paella like they now do barbecue on the 4th of July. It has all the right components: You cook it outside like you do for barbecue, but at the next level of sophistication. It gives you many options, and you can feed a lot of people once you get the hang of it. So I predict paella will be the next big thing. What’s your favorite cookbook of all time? I keep changing. I think my favorite book right now would be The Virginia Housewife, by Mary Randolph. If Americans want to know what America is, they need to know that book. It wasn’t the first cookbook printed in America, but you could argue it was the first cookbook printed in America written by an American. The cookbooks that preceded it were all copies of English books. It was an important book for me when I opened my pop-up, America Eats Tavern, in Washington, DC, last year; we offered a Mary Randolph tasting menu with her mock turtle soup. She even had 10 Spanish recipes in there. What’s the best cheap cooking gadget? The cheapest gadget—and you don’t even have to spend a dime—is chopsticks from a Chinese restaurant. I use them for everything: to toss salads, to turn a piece of meat in the pan, to flip croquettes in the Fryolator, to whisk eggs for omelets, to stir eggs into fried rice when I make that for my daughters. I also like to use chopsticks as tweezers; they can bring a level of sophistication when you cook. Sometimes I like to plate salads using chopsticks; it’s a great chance to concentrate and relax. What’s one technique everyone should know? How to cook à la plancha. A plancha is just a hot flat surface. So if you think about it, anything is a plancha, like a sauté pan or a griddle. À la plancha is the perfect way to cook for a crowd. Most people only use their griddles for pancakes, but you can sear vegetables like sliced zucchini or mushrooms, thinly sliced meats like chicken or pork, or thinly sliced fish or squid. You can do grilled cheese sandwiches à la plancha, a quick omelet à la plancha, you can even open oysters or clams à la plancha with hardly any need for oil. Nothing could be easier. Say you have beautiful, fresh, head-on Louisiana shrimp: You can sprinkle the hot plancha with a little salt, put the shrimp on the plancha and season the shrimp, then wait 4 to 5 minutes before flipping them to cook the other side. Wait another few minutes until the shrimp are white all the way through, and you have Louisiana shrimp à la plancha. Serve the shrimp or vegetables or omelet with a little pesto or mayonnaise, some other favorite sauce, mayo, you don’t need much. A plancha is all you need! Can you share a great entertaining tip? Don’t try to do more than one hot dish. To serve something hot à la minute, you have to be in the kitchen controlling the oven or the fire. Especially when you have more than eight or 10 people, things begin to get complicated. And when things get complicated, you’re not having fun, and the kitchen is a mess. Serve only one hot thing that can hold, like a soup—clam chowder, lobster chowder, pumpkin soup, people enjoy those a lot and they’re all very easy. If you want to keep your side dishes warmer than room temperature, consider buying a small steam table for the home, with the Sterno cans underneath. Last, don’t make excuses if something doesn’t turn out quite as you planned; you’ve tried your best. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on December 9, 2019 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle Active Time: 40 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Yield: 12 Ingredients All-purpose flour, for dusting One 14-ounce package frozen all-butter puff pastry, thawed 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 small onion, minced 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 small green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice 1 teaspoon sweet pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika) 1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked over Salt Directions Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. On a large, lightly floured work surface, roll out the pastry 1/8 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut out two 12-by-3-inch rectangles and brush off any excess flour. Transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheet. From the remaining puff pastry, cut four 12-by-1/4-inch strips and four 3-by-1/4-inch strips. Moisten the border of the rectangles with water. Lay the long strips on the long edges of each rectangle and the short strips on the short edges of each rectangle; press lightly to seal. With a fork, prick the bottom of the pastry shells all over. Freeze the pastry shells for 15 minutes. Bake the pastry shells for about 30 minutes, until browned and crisp and the borders have risen nicely. If the centers start to puff up, gently tamp them down with a fork during baking. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat for 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the bell peppers, cover and cook, stirring a few times, until the peppers are tender, about 8 minutes. Uncover and stir in the pimentón. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the crab and cook, tossing gently, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. Spread the crab filling into the center of each pastry shell. With a serrated knife, cut the pastry shells crosswise into 12 slices each. Arrange the slices on a platter and serve. Make Ahead The baked, unfilled pastry shells can be wrapped in aluminum foil and kept at room temperature overnight. Reheat the pastry shells in a 350° oven for 3 minutes before filling. Suggested Pairing Albariños from Rías Baixas in northwestern Spain are full of a refreshing acidity that's wonderful with all kinds of foods—tangy, briny, rich. That's why they're ideal with a tapas spread. Rate it Print