James Tanner brings us a sinless dish to start off the week - salmon en croute.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 x 120g salmon fillets
3 sheets of filo pastry cut in half across
1 egg beaten
40g watercress
2 tbsp low fat crème friache
Zest of half a lemon
3 dried apricots, chopped
Salt and black pepper
150g cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp sesame seeds
500g bag of baby spinach
Method:
1. Pre heat oven to 200C/gas 6.
2. Take the filo sheets cut in half across and lay on a chopping board cover with a damp cloth, zest the lemon and scatter over the salmon with a touch of seasoning. In a bowl mix the crème fraiche with the chopped apricots.
3. Now is the time to start building your parcels. Take three half sheets of filo and brush alternate sheets with the beaten egg then lay a salmon fillet at one end of sheet, scatter over some watercress and top off with a layer of crème fraiche mixture. Fold up the sides of the filo onto the salmon and carefully roll up in the pastry. Repeat the process again with the remaining ingredients and lay your two parcels onto a non-stick baking sheet. Brush with beaten egg, scatter over sesame seeds and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden and crisp. *Note* Turn on the parcels on their sides half way through cooking to ensure you have a crispy pastry all the way round.
4. For the tomatoes simply lay onto a baking tray, drizzle over oil and balsamic, season and bake for 8 minutes to just soften slightly, pop these in the oven when you turn your salmon parcels!
To serve:
Slice the parcels in half across the middle at an angle using a serrated knife. Arrange on plates with baked tomatoes and drizzle any tray juices from the tomatoes around. Serve with wilted baby spinach.