Salmon En Croute

This is a beautiful dish, a treat I must say of flaky pastry and moist, creamy salmon with cream cheese and spinach. Mmmm and folks- it is so easy to make and if you have guests coming over this is a fuss free number. Great even for beginner level cooks.

INGREDIENTS:

Salmon fillets with skin removed
2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce, salt + pepper.
Flaky Puff pastry sheets, thaw only the amount you need
(store-bought but if you are feeling more adventurous click here for a homemade pastry recipe).
1 Philly bar of Cream Cheese softened mixed with 4 tbsp. of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom
Sliced button mushrooms
Spinach lightly sauteed in olive oil with 1 small onion, sliced- don't overdo it so it won't wilt and you want to retain that lovely green color.
Egg wash- 1 egg yolk mixed with a tbsp. milk


HOW TO:

1. First thing is to marinate your fillets with worcestershire and salt, pepper for 30 minutes or longer. Let it soak up all the goodness. I tend to use worcestershire a lot in seafood as it adds an oomph to it and gets rid of the fishy taste.

2. Separate each of your pastry sheets and let it thaw while marinating the fish. Pre- heat your oven 180 deg. and prep your trays.

3. Soften (not liquefy) the cream cheese until you can whisk it with ease, (I often microwave to 30 seconds if it's from the fridge) and mix in 4-5 tbsp. of the cream of mushroom then add in the sliced mushrooms.

4. Prep your spinach as mentioned above.

Cook's Note: You can use as much spinach as you want, you can add another half a block of cream cheese if you think it's not enough, you can omit the cream of mushroom and just toss in some herbs instead like maybe cilantro or pesto or basil. I first made this with pesto sauce and it came out really strong so I've omitted that and just stuck with the cream of mushroom which is a better companion to salmon. Be creative but make sure the flavours are balanced and not too overpowering.


PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER:


Once the pastry is soft enough to handle, lay it out in front of you diamond style- what we want to achieve here is to make an envelope style parcel where we can fold in all the edges.
Drop a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture in the middle, flatten it with the back of your spoon
and put the salmon in the center (like a bed for the salmon, sort of- you get what i mean)
Add another small dollop on top, plus some of the spinach mixture.
Fold in horizontally first- so just overlap the left and right points, then do the top and bottom-
making sure it is well sealed!!! that is the key otherwise it will open up during baking.
Lightly spray oil on your baking trays and place the Salmon parcels, making sure there is enough space in between. Brush the tops with egg wash and bake for at least 20- 30 minutes.
Until it is nice and golden because you don't want a soggy pastry with undercook fish in it.

When it is cooked, let it rest and cool a little bit before serving. Serve with a lovely salad and a side dish of pasta. Buon' Appetito!




Life is too short for self-hatred and celery sticks. 
-Marilyn Wann