A Little Bit of Frozen Pastry, A No Measure Recipe & Salmon En Croute with Asparagus, Sun Dried Tomatoes & Spinach.
Unless salmon was in a tin, my Mum would have never had it in the house. She was never a fresh fish sort of lady, and in later life Dad, unless he was cooking, ate more or less what my Mum gave him.
So for me, fish was not necessarily on the menu unless it was wrapped in paper with salt and vinegar, maybe a little ketchup on the side.
Ketchup every time by the way never brown sauce, and because I’m a northern girl gravy on my chips too. Maybe a few batter bits, if they’ve got any left.
Later in life I certainly made up for it. Fish for Mr G, is the first thing he would order in the menu, so I try to prepare some sort of fish dish at least once a week.
It’s normally a little healthier than this, no pastry, but every once in a while, bringing out the puff pastry is well worth it. Especially if ready made puff pastry is on offer and I’ve got a freezer full of it.
If you can ignore the pastry, the rest of this salmon dish is very fresh.
Although hands up who doesn’t like a little bit of pastry now and then?
I knew it would be you who put your hand up!
If you want to keep it very healthy, leave out the pastry and wrap the whole thing in foil instead, and cook it on a baking tray in a hot oven. This will keep all those fishy juices inside and once you’ve dished up the salmon, you’re left with a natural, tasty salad dressing to use straight away or to keep it in the fridge for a couple of days.
I have to admit that this dish was made before the Coronavirus. I was holding onto posting it, but now I want to free it into the world.
My cooking and recipes are usually about easy, stress free cooking using up things that you may have in your pantry. With a bit of imagination, I think that most people can cook most things. You may not have the exact ingredient in the cupboards, but by stretching your mind, think outside the box, and maybe substitute a few ingredients and flavours, you’ll find that things may be easier to tackle than you first thought.
If you want ideas on which ingredients you can switch as a substitute for others, go to my downloads page and take a look. You’ll find the ultimate ingredients substitute list for people who like to cook.
It’s worth printing it off and sticking it to the inside of your pantry for quick and easy access.
If theres anything you think I’ve left off the substitute list, just email me and I’ll pop it on.
This recipe is a No Measure Recipe. This means that it’s entirely up to you how many or how much of the ingredients you use.
The list of ingredients is still here, but if you want to use a small piece of salmon for individual portions, or a whole side of salmon so the whole family can have some of the tastiness, just adjust the amount of ingredients accordingly.
Don’t let it scare you, it’s all about your taste buds and it’s a fantastic way to get your mind to think outside the box when you’re cooking.
Once you’ve tried it, email me to let me know how yours turned out, pictures always please :)
Enjoy Your Sweet life
The extra ground black pepper on the top before cooking adds just a little more oomph ti the taste of your ready rolled pastry.
What You Need
Fresh salmon – See Tip Box
Ready rolled puff pastry -See Tip Box
Asparagus – washed and hard stalk ends removed
Spinach – washed and drained well
Pesto – Red or green – See Tip Box
Sun dried or sun blushed tomatoes
S & P
1 egg – beaten to be used as an egg wash
Look at those colours! Pretty as well as tasty.
How It’s Done
Heat oven to 200c – See Tip Box
Line the bottom of a sided oven proof dish with non-stick parchment paper.
Place the first piece of ready rolled pastry onto the non-stick parchment.
Place the salmon, skin side down, onto the pastry.
Liberally Season the flesh with salt and pepper
Cover the whole salmon with the pesto sauce.
Lay the asparagus on top of the pesto
Cover the asparagus with spinach leaves
Place the tomatoes over the spinach.
Cut a thin strip off the end of the second piece of pastry – set aside.
Place the large part of the second piece of pastry on top of salmon and work your way around the edges crimping with your fingers to seal all the way around.
Use the cut off strip of pastry to decorate the top of the sealed parcel.
Brush the top of the parcel with beaten egg,
Sprinkle the top of the pastry with black pepper.
Place the oven proof dish into the hot oven.
Bake for approximately 40-50minutes - Until it’s a golden brown all over and piping hot in the middle – Use a knife to test this. – See Tip Box
If it isn’t hot in the middle but it’s getting too brown, cover in foil and continue to cook until piping hot in the middle.
Serve hot or cold
Red or green pesto, it’s up to you. Make your own or use a jar.
Tip Box
Salmon – Size of the salmon portion is up to you. Do you want it for individual portions or for the whole family?
Ready Rolled Puff Pastry- I used 2 sheets of the ready roll puff pastry to cover a whole side of fresh salmon
Pesto - For a whole side of fresh salmon I used 1 jar of pesto. It’s up to you how much you use on yours. Use red or green from a jar or make your own.
Oven – All ovens are different. Adjust cooking time accordingly.
Perfect parcel ready for the egg glaze
