Port of Veracruz Crab Vol-au-Vents (Volovanes de Jaiba)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rolling pin and bench scraper for laminating the dough
• •Wide clay cazuela or heavy skillet for the jaiba guisada
• •Two rimmed baking sheets with parchment
• •Pastry brush
• •Sharp knife for clean pastry edges

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the hojaldre

   Whisk the flour, salt, and sugar in a wide bowl. Add the cold butter slabs and toss until each piece is coated. Stir the lime juice into the ice water, then drizzle in just enough water to make a shaggy dough that holds when pressed. You should still see large pieces of butter. Do not knead it smooth. Smooth dough gives you bread, not hojaldre.

2. 2

   Fold the dough

   Pat the dough into a rectangle, wrap it, and chill 30 minutes. Roll it on a floured counter into a long rectangle about 10 by 20 inches. Fold it in thirds like a business letter, rotate it a quarter turn, and roll again. Give it two folds, then chill 45 minutes. Repeat until you have five folds total. The butter should stay firm and visible in thin sheets. If it smears, stop and chill the dough. Así se hace y punto.

   A hot kitchen is the enemy of volovanes. In Veracruz, panaderos work fast because they know the dough is listening to the weather.
3. 3

   Start the guiso

   Heat the olive oil in a wide cazuela or heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chile jalapeño and cook 1 minute more, just until the garlic smells sharp and sweet. Do not brown it. Burned garlic makes the whole filling taste tired.

4. 4

   Reduce the tomato

   Add the grated tomatoes, bay leaf, Mexican oregano, olives, capers, salt, and black pepper. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the tomato thickens and a spoon dragged through the pan leaves a clean path, 12 to 15 minutes. This is the step people rush. Then their volovanes leak. The guiso must be thick enough to sit on a spoon.

5. 5

   Add the jaiba

   Fold in the crab meat and epazote. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, just long enough for the crab to take the tomato and chile flavor. Taste for salt. Remove the bay leaf. Spread the filling on a tray and refrigerate until completely cold, about 45 minutes. Warm filling melts the butter in the dough before the oven can do its work.

6. 6

   Cut the squares

   Line two baking sheets with parchment. Divide the chilled dough in half. Roll one half into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick and cut twelve 4-inch squares. Repeat with the second half for twelve more squares. Keep the cut pastry cold while you work. Trim cleanly with a sharp knife, not a dull wheel that drags the layers shut.

7. 7

   Fill and seal

   Place twelve pastry squares on the baking sheets. Spoon about 2 tablespoons cold jaiba filling into the center of each. Brush the edges lightly with egg wash. Cover with the remaining squares and press the edges gently with your fingertips to seal. Do not crush them with a fork. Cut one small slit in the top of each volován so the filling can settle without bursting the pastry.

8. 8

   Chill before baking

   Refrigerate the assembled volovanes for 20 minutes while the oven heats to 425F. Brush the tops with egg wash, keeping it off the cut sides. Egg wash running down the sides glues the layers together. That is how you get flat pastry and disappointment.

9. 9

   Bake tall

   Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven to 375F and bake 12 to 15 minutes more, until the pastry is deeply golden, crisp at the corners, and dry on the bottom. Pale hojaldre is underbaked hojaldre. Let the volovanes rest 10 minutes before serving. The filling inside will be fierce.

10. 10

    Serve jarocho style

    Serve warm from a wicker basket lined with a clean cotton servilleta, or on blue-and-white talavera plates with café lechero. No cheddar, no sour cream, no lettuce. This is Veracruz, not a costume.

Chef Tips

• •Buy crab from a fishmonger who can tell you when it was picked. Fresh Gulf blue crab is best. Pasteurized crab meat is a compromise that works. Imitation crab does not belong here.
• •The jalapeño is not random heat. It is Veracruz geography. The chile takes its name from Xalapa, and it belongs in this tomato guiso.
• •If the tomatoes are pale and watery, cook them longer. If the market has good ripe jitomate bola instead of Roma, use those. Cook what the mercado is selling today.
• •Do not overfill the pastry. Two tablespoons looks modest. It is correct. More filling forces the seams open and ruins the rise.
• •Store-bought puff pastry will make a weeknight version, but buy all-butter pastry if you can. It is a compromise, not an upgrade. The guiso still has to be right.

Advance Preparation

• •The hojaldre can be laminated one day ahead and refrigerated, tightly wrapped. It can also be frozen for one month.
• •The jaiba filling can be made one day ahead. Keep it refrigerated and use it cold.
• •Assembled unbaked volovanes can be frozen on a tray, then bagged. Bake from frozen at 425F for 18 minutes, then lower to 375F until deeply golden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)