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The December 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online.
I used goat cheese with my watercress, arugula, and spinach. I’m not sure if that was a good choice or not, as I’ve never had salmon en croute before.
I also tried to make little fishy shapes to put on top, since my initial plan of making the entire thing a fish didn’t work.
As you can see, I was pretty sloppy with folding my pastry. I don’t know what my problem was that day.
To tell the truth, we didn’t like this very much. I know I rolled the shortcrust too thick. I probably also didn’t season enough, because it was very bland except for the sauce bits. I had planned on making a beurre blanc sauce to go with it, but I couldn’t be bothered when it came down to it.
I hope to try this again, because I know it CAN be good. I’m particularly interested in trying the beef Wellington recipe, so maybe I’ll have a post again in 2010 detailing my success!
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Ingredients
- 5.2 ounces mascarpone or cream cheese, 150 grams
- 4.2 ounces watercress, rocket (arugula) or spinach (120 grams)
- 17.6 ounces shortcrust pastry*, 500 grams
- 17.6 ounces skinless salmon fillet, 500 grams
- 1 medium egg
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 200ยฐC/390ยฐF. Put the mascarpone or cream cheese in a food processor with the watercress, spinach and rocket and whizz the lot until you have a creamy green puree. Season well.
- Roll the pastry out so you can wrap the salmon in it completely (approx. 2-3 mm thick) and lay it on a buttered or oiled baking sheet (it will hang over the edges). Put the salmon in the middle. If it has a thinner tail end, tuck it under.
- Spoon half of the watercress mixture onto the salmon. Now fold the pastry over into a neat parcel (the join will be at the top, so trim the edge neatly), making sure you donโt have any thick lumps of pastry as these wonโt cook through properly.
- Trim off any excess as you need to. Make 3 neat cuts in the pastry to allow steam to escape and make some decorations with the off-cuts to disguise the join if you like. Brush with the egg glaze.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and browned. To test whether the salmon is cooked, push a sharp knife through one of the cuts into the flesh, wait for 3 seconds then test it against the inside of your wrist; if it is hot, the salmon is cooked. Serve with the rest of the watercress puree as a sauce.
Notes
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate based on online calculators. Any nutritional information found on Stetted should be used as a general guideline only.
About Megan
I learned how to cook by exploring seasonal ingredients, and you can too! Meal time shouldn’t be stressful or complicated, and with fresh ingredients and easy methods, Iโm here to help you enjoy the time spent in the kitchen.ย Read moreโฆ
Oh you should definitely try the beef. I am sorry your salmon didn’t work out the way you wanted. I, too, didn’t fold my pastry very well and ended up with some thick bits on the bottom…
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out for you, but it looks amazing! DEFINITELY try the beef, and use puff pastry..well worth it!