Salmon En Croute

This is a perfect dish to prepare for a special occasion over the festive period – whether you want to make an extra effort for a family meal, provide an alternative to turkey on Christmas Day, or if you want impress friends at a dinner party.

The salmon mousseline and spinach sheets can be prepared 48 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator. The complete salmon en croute can be made up to 24 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator so it’s perfect for getting ahead for a dinner party.

Serves 4
Serving suggestion – hollandaise sauce, curly kale and boiled potatoes finished with loads of salted Jersey butter.

Ingredients
18 Large spinach leaves
700g Fresh salmon fillet, skinned and pin-boned
2 Eggs
400ml Double cream
10g Table salt
1 bunch Fresh dill, finely chopped
1 Lemon, zest only, finely grated
2 sheets All butter puff pastry

Method
Spinach leaves
Remove the stalks from the spinach and blanch in boiling water for a few seconds before plunging into iced water. Remove the spinach leaves from the water and dry flat on absorbent kitchen towel.

Salmon mousseline
Remover 175g salmon from the fillet and roughly dice. Place in a food processor with 1 egg white and blend until completely smooth. You will need to scrape the sides of the food processor bowl down occasionally with a plastic spatula. With the food processor running, gradually add the cream. Transfer the mousseline to a mixing bowl and add the salt, dill and lemon zest. Mix well and place in the refrigerator.

Building the salmon en croute

  • Place a sheet of absorbent kitchen towel on your worksurface
  • Lay half the spinach leaves together on the towel to form one large sheet
  • Place the 500g salmon fillet in the middle of the spinach sheet
  • Place the salmon mousseline on top of the salmon fillet and evenly spread
  • Lay the remaining spinach leaves on top of the salmon mousseline
  • Fold up the bottom spinach leaves to completely encase the salmon fillet and mousseline
  • Beat 2 egg yolks to create an egg wash
  • Lay a sheet of puff pastry on the worksurface
  • Place the spinach wrapped salmon in the middle of the puff pastry sheet
  • Using a pastry brush, egg wash the border of the pastry
  • Lay the second sheet of pastry over the spinach wrapped salmon
  • Form the pastry around the salmon as tightly as possible so it is completely encased in pastry
  • Using a fork, crimp the edges
  • Transfer to a greaseproof paper lined baking tray
  • Egg wash the salmon en croute
  • Stamp out pastry holly leaves and decorate the salmon en croute with them
  • Egg wash the holly leaves
  • Using a wooden cocktail stick, scrape a pattern into the salmon en croute
  • Place in the refrigerator

Cooking the salmon en croute

  • Leave the salmon en croute at room temperature for a minimum of 1 hour before cooking
  • Pre-heat your oven to 200°C fan
  • Place the salmon en croute in the oven for 20 minutes
  • Remove the salmon en croute from the oven and allow to rest at room temperature (uncovered) for 20 minutes
  • Before serving place the salmon en croute back in the oven at 180°C fan for 5 minutes

Serve immediately

Sample menus