Try Rosemary Shrager's delicious fish recipe for salmon wrapped in pastry.
Ingredients
- 600 g21¼ oz salmon, skinned and pin boned
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs of parsley
- Black peppercorns
- 800 g28¼ oz puff pastry
- 2 eggs, whisked
For the salmon mousse:
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 150 g5¼ oz mushrooms, chopped
- 300 g10½ oz salmon fillet, skinned and boned
- 1 egg white
- 300 ml10½ fl oz double cream
- 2 tbsp curly parsley, finely chopped
- 750 g26½ oz cooked Basmati rice
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Method: How to make Salmon en croûte
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.
To cook the salmon:
Butter a double layer of tin foil and place the salmon, sliced lemon, bay leaves, parsley and peppercorns on it. Bake it in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Then remove the fish from the foil and put it on a tray until ready to assemble the dish.
While the salmon is in the oven make the salmon mousse:
Gently soften the onion in a little olive oil then add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Strain well, making sure all the liquid has been removed (it must be quite dry) and put to one side until required.
Make sure there are no bones in the salmon and remove all the blood fat. Put it in a processor and process until smooth, then add the egg white. Process again and add the cream in a stream, pulsing the salmon at the same time, being careful not to overmix as the cream will curdle. Remove from the processor, put it in a bowl, add the mushroom mixture, parsley and cooked rice, and season well with salt and pepper. Put it in the fridge until required.
Roll out 300g of the pastry to 3mm thick, 20cm wide and 35cm long and place on a buttered baking tray. Spread a thin layer of mousse in a 10cm x 27cm rectangle in the middle of the pastry. Spread half of the salmon evenly on top of the mousse. Cover with another layer of mousse, now place the rest of the salmon in a layer and repeat with another layer of mousse. Spread a little more mousse on the sides, forming a neat rectangle.
Roll out the remaining 500g of the pastry to 3mm thick, 32cm wide and 47cm long. Place it on top of the rectangle and pat down gently on the top and sides. Carefully seal the edges of the pastry with egg wash, decorate the top with leaves, or whatever takes your fancy, cut from the trimmings, and brush all over with egg wash. Make a small hole in the top and cook in the oven at 200C for 50 minutes or until golden brown, turn the oven down to 170C after 35 minutes.
