Shrimp Pot Pies

Ingredients

1 egg
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
Flour, for dusting
1 pound package frozen medium shrimp (buy them shelled and deveined)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, chopped
1 small carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 small can mushrooms, drained
2 cloves minced garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups heavy cream
Salt and white pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, whisk egg and water until well blended. Lightly dust work surface with flour. Unfold puff pastry, roll with a rolling pin to remove creases, and cut into fourths. Brush each piece with egg wash and bake in the middle of the oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and gently halve each pastry with a bread knife.

3. Meanwhile, season the shrimp with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Saute the shrimp, 1 minute per side. Remove shrimp and set aside.

4. Add remaining butter to the pan and saute onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and thyme, until softened about 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds. Add wine, bring to a simmer and cook until most of the wine has evaporated. Add the cream and bring back to a simmer until the sauce thickens to a gravy consistency, about 12 to 15 minutes.

5. Place the shrimp back into the sauce to coat. Remove thyme and season with salt and white pepper. Ladle the shrimp mixture onto the bottom halves of the puff pastry; top with other halves.

 makes 4 individual shrimp pot pies