Salmon en Croute

When you feel like making something delicious yet quick dinner after work, I suggest making this. All you need to do is assemble and bake. Then wait for the timer to go off while you get on with reading the paper, checking your mails or wind down on the comfortable couch.

Salmon parcel ready to be baked

...et viola (after 30 minutes in the oven)

An impressive dinner with minimal effort

SALMON EN CROUTE RECIPE

Serves 2

• 250g salmon


• puff pastry (readily rolled)


• a squeeze of lemon juice


• 1 small egg

• 25g sun-dried tomato (chopped)


• 20g tapenade


• 10g basil (chopped)


• salt and pepper


• rocket

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.


2. Descale the fish and pat dry with kitchen towel. Season with salt, peper and a squeeze of lemon juice.


3. Chop up the sun-dried tomato then mix it with the tapenade and chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.


4. Roll out the puff pastry onto a flat surface. Place one piece of salmon on the puff pastry, spread the salmon with the tapenade mix. Then top it with anther piece of salmon.


5. Once the salmon has been sandwiched with the tapenade, fold the other half of the puff pastry and brush the edges with some egg wash to seal. Press the edges with a fork to make sure the parcel seals tightly.


6. Brush the parcel with the egg wash to make it glisten.


7. Make neat criss cross cuts on the parcel to allow steam through.


8. Bake for 30minutes.


9. When ready, half it and serve on a bed of rocket or any vegetables you prefer.

Tips:

• You can make this with different filling. Try it with cream cheese and spinach, or mustard seeds with butter and dill.


• If you have extra puff pastry after wrapping up the salmon, you can make them into tapenade or sun-dried tomato batons. The batons are great for party snacks.

Sun-dried tomato batons

SUN-DRIED TOMATO / TAPENADE BATON RECIPE

Ingredients:

• Sun-dried tomato / tapenade


• Puff pastry

Method:

1. Spread the tapenade or chopped sun dried tomato on one half of the leftover sheet of puff pastry.


2. Fold the sheet up and cut into about an inch batons.


3. Brush the batons with egg wash.


4. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Tips:

• You can make these batons with Dijon mustard as well.


• These batons freeze well.