A green plate topped with food and a bowl of dipping sauce
I made this crab strudel for a fun, virtual cooking class Junnie & I did for the Research Chefs Association. I love the sweet crab and crunchy water chestnuts in the filling.

Crab Strudel

Strudels are one of my favorite hors d' oeuvres! I like strudel filled with seafood, mushrooms, vegetables etc.. and delicious condiments like pickled vegetables on the side.

Strudel can be cut into triangles, 'mini shaped' strudel or large strudel, sliced & served as an appetizer. 


Prep Time: 10 min

Cooking Time: 20 min

Yield: 4 portions


Ingredients

Filling 

2 Tbsp         Canola oil         

3 Tbsp         Shallots, peeled & minced                                       

1 Tbsp.        Garlic, minced 

3 Tbsp         Water Chestnuts, chopped fine

2 lbs             Crabmeat, lump white-picked of shells                    

4 Tbsp.       Cream Cheese     

1/4 tsp       Tarragon, fresh; chopped                       

1 tsp            Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp        Cayenne Pepper

                                     

1/4 lb          Olive oil or Whole butter, melted                                     

 24 ea.        Phyllo dough sheets                                   

1 Cup          Panko Breadcrumbs



How to Prepare the Strudel

A pan filled with chopped onions is cooking on a stove.

Step 1

Heat the oil in a saute pan, add the shallots and garlic, cook until tender, about 4 minutes-cool.

A close up of a crab salad with a spoon in it.

Step 2

Place the ingredients for the filling into a bowl and blend evenly. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

A cutting board with a spoon and bowls of ingredients on it
A cutting board with a piece of food on it

Step 3

Lay out one sheet of phyllo dough (on to a sheet of parchment paper, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp panko, repeat laying out 3 more consecutive sheets of phyllo dough with the melted whole butter evenly on top of each other.


A tray of food is sitting on a piece of wax paper.

Step 4

To prepare mini 'logs', cut the phyllo in half, the long way. Place 2 Tbsp of filling at the bottom and roll up, tightly to the top. Crimp the edges on the sides and brush with olive oil or melted butter-bake 350°F until golden brown. or to make triangles...

or

Place 6 spoonfuls of the filling on to the phyllo and cut the dough in to 4 long rows. Fold each row from bottom to top, as you would fold a flag-place onto a sheet pan (parchment optional)

Bake at 350°F until golden brown. 


Note: these strudel can be rolled as one large strudel, in triangles or into small, mini strudels depending on how you cut the phyllo dough.

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