Mini Seafood Tartlets

The finished tartlets will be square, with a perfectly round centre of aromatic seafood filling

Makes 12 tartlets. A tasty, fragrant snack which is excellent served hot. The texture of the filling is smooth and creamy rather than baked, like a quiche.

For the béchamel sauce:

• 50g butter
• 25g plain flour
• Half a pint of milk
• Pinch of salt
• Bay leaf
• Half an onion, chopped roughly
• A few peppercorns

The seafood filling:

• 100g cooked prawns, finely chopped
• Three tablespoons lobster bisque
• Two tbsp cream
• 50g cheddar cheese, grated
• One egg yolk
• A tube of herring roe spread (optional)

Garnish:

• A few fronds of finely-chopped dill
• A few fennel seeds
• Paprika to taste

And, of course, a sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry, cut into squares

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Place the milk, bay leaf, onion, peppercorns and a pinch of salt into a saucepan.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent burning, and set to one side to let the flavours infuse for about five minutes.

Now we're going to make the roux - the base for all white sauces.  In another pan, melt the butter over a low heat, taking care not to let it burn.  When it has all melted, add the flour and stir quickly to prevent the mixture scorching as it solidifies.  Continue stirring to cook out all the flour, until your mixture resembles a paste.  Remove from the heat when ready.

Next, pass the warm milk through a strainer, discarding the onions, peppercorns and bay leaf, and add it slowly to the roux in stages, stirring constantly and quickly over a low heat to remove any lumps.  You probably won't need the whole half pint of milk, but remember the golden rule - you can always add liquid to a recipe but you can't take it out afterwards!  Every time you add a bit more milk, your mixture will develop more lumps, but don't worry - keep stirring the béchamel sauce until it evens out and becomes smooth and silky but not too runny, because the next stage will cause the sauce to thin further.

Add three tablespoons of lobster bisque (you could also use a reduction of fish stock), then the prawns, cheese and cream. Stir until all the cheese has melted in to the sauce, placing it briefly back onto the heat if needed.  Taste the sauce and add seasoning if needed, and leave to one side to cool slightly.

Now take a Yorkshire pudding or muffin tray, the kind with twelve shallow indentations.  Take your squares of puff pastry, place into the indentations and press down to make a well in each one.  Place a small pea-sized blob of the herring roe spread into each tartlet.

Now, without returning it to the heat, quickly whisk the egg yolk into the sauce and mix well, taking care not to scramble the egg!  Spoon the mixture into each tartlet and decorate with the fennel seeds, dill and paprika, all of which are optional - you could equally mill fresh black pepper over each one or add a sliver of anchovy or smoked haddock.

Bake at 220C for 15 minutes or until pastry is golden.