Food to impress. With very little fuss, believe me! This is such a great dish in such a little time. You can serve this stunner at a black-tie dinner or a casual lunch.
I always use the best quality puff pastry I can find which is just perfect for this. You can make your own basil pesto but great quality store bought pesto yields equally good results.
You can assemble the dish in advance and cook it 30-40 minutes before serving time. If you are a salmon fan you will love this one.
Individual Salmon Wellingtons
Food to impress. With very little fuss, believe me! This is such a great dish in such a little time. You can serve this stunner at a black-tie dinner or a casual lunch.
Ingredients
- 140 grams spinach leaves
- 3 Tbsp shallots chopped
- 1 tsp garlic chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 100 grams cream cheese
- 2 Tbsp basil pesto
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 4 salmon fillets no bones or skin
- 800 grams ready-rolled frozen puff pastry thawed
- Salt and pepper
- 1 egg slightly beaten with a fork
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200° C, fan. Lightly oil 2 baking sheets.
- In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook stirring until onion is soft and beginning to colour. Add spinach all at once. Lower the heat to medium and cook stirring occasionally, until all the water from the spinach has evaporated and mixture is dry. Transfer mixture in a bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl mix cream cheese with pesto. Add this to the cooled spinach mixture and mix through. Divide spinach mixture in 4 equal parts.
- Thaw salmon fillets and place on a tray, skin side up. Spread Dijon mustard on the skin side of the salmon fillet. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until needed.
- Place one sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured surface. Cut in 4 equal pieces (a pizza wheel makes this very easy).
- Place one salmon fillet, mustard side down, in the centre of one of the puff pastry rectangles. Season with salt and pepper.
- Spread one quarter of the spinach mixture on top of the salmon fillet. Brush puff pastry with beaten egg.
- Cover Salmon fillet with another piece of puff pastry. Press all the way around to seal the “package”. Press together the sides and trim excess pastry.
- Pinch the sides and join them together to seal well. Use a fork to press the pastry all the way around, making sure the salmon is well enclosed in the pastry.
- Transfer packages on a lightly oiled baking sheets and brush all over with beaten egg. Bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry is all puffed up and golden.
- Serve within half an hour.
