Description
This Salmon Wellington recipe (salmon en croute) is made with a golden buttery puff pastry crust, wild salmon, and a creamy spinach filling with lemon zest and dill. It can be made a day ahead, and baked right before serving.
Ingredients
- 1–2 large sheet puff pastry sheets- thawed overnight in the fridge, see notes. We love the Dufour brand, made with real butter.
- 1 – 1 1/4 lb salmon fillet, skin off, pin bones removed (king or coho work best here, see notes)
- 1/4– 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Spinach Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- 2 garlic, roughly chopped
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
- 2/3 cup cream cheese, cut or spooned into pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, more as needed
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 egg yolk
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon milk or half and half
Instructions
- Thaw puff pastry overnight in the fridge. Then place on the counter 10 minutes before rolling.
- Make the Filling: In a large skillet or pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add shallot and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Lower heat and add the chopped spinach, stirring and wilting. Add the dill and cream cheese, turn off the heat, and stir until the cream cheese is fully incorporated. Add salt pepper, and lemon zest and set aside. Let this sit for 5 -10 minutes, then mix in the egg yolk. You could do this all ahead and refrigerate overnight.
- Make the egg wash. In a small bowl, whisk one egg with a splash of half and half, and whisk well, set aside.
- Assemble: On a floured parchment paper, gently unfold the puff pastry. Flour the top of it and roll it out just a little, to fit the salmon- you don’t want it too thin, see notes. (Make sure your puff pasty will fit over the top of the salmon+filling with 1 inch around all three sides-otherwise you’ll need two sheets).
- Season the salmon generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Place the salmon on one side of the puff pastry, leaving an inch of space around it to seal. Brush the salmon with the dijon mustard.
- Spoon the spinach filling over the salmon. Smooth it out as best you can. Brush the egg wash lightly on all exposed puff pastry, then carefully fold it over the salmon, pressing out any air bubbles, before sealing. Then, press the edges together with the side of your hand. Trim to 1/2 inch. Crimp the edges. Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash, as well as the edges. Cut or crosshatch the top to create a design if you like. ( I used the back of a spoon to create a fish scale pattern, then cut these with a sharp paring knife).
- Slide it onto a plate or platter ( with the parchment) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Place a sheet pan in the oven and preheat the oven to 400F ( 375F convection). When ready to bake, slide the salmon with the parchment onto the hot sheet pan, and bake in the middle of oven the until beautifully golden, about 30-35 minutes. Turn halfway through if need be.
- Let stand 5-10 minutes, slice into pieces, and serve.
Notes
Baking this on a HOT, preheated sheet pan will help the bottom crisp and cook through.
Puff pastry: Depending on the brand of puff pastry you use and the size of your salmon, you may need one or two pastry sheets. You can always cut the salmon to fit the puff pastry better. I’ve even done this with pieces of salmon pushed together. When using the Darfour brand, one large sheet is usually enough; when using the Pepperidge Farms brand, I use both sheets in the package- placing one on top of the other instead of folding them over.
Salmon: I’ve had the best luck with oiler, thicker salmon (sustainable Nordic Atlantic, coho, or wild king salmon), which is harder to overcook and dry out, versus wild sockeye salmon, which tends to cook faster. That being said, the wild sockeye salmon, though slightly overcooked, still tasted good.
Cream Cheese: You could replace this with store-bought vegan cream cheese made with cashews.
Assemble ahead: The whole thing can be assembled a day ahead and refrigerated, then baked right before serving. Remember to use a hot sheet pan. Wait to brush the surface with eggwash until baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 slice
- Calories: 532
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 524.9 mg
- Fat: 31.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 38.4 g
- Fiber: 2.9 g
- Protein: 26.4 g
- Cholesterol: 95.5 mg