French Food Friday...salmon en croûte

recipe and photo from here

Bonjour mes belles,

I do not know about you but for me, it has been a busy week hence the lack of posts this week. I appear to have lost the days in between Monday and today so am hoping that the weekend is a long and leisurely one....

End result is that I feel that I deserve a nice glass or two? of champagne and since it is Valentine's day it will be a romantic dinner for two. 

After a lot of deliberating, I have decided to cook salmon en croûte which is a favourite and  can be prepared in advance, which leaves time to decide what dress to wear etc.

Salmon en croûte

Serves: 6
Preparation time:  15 minutes
Cooking time:  1 hour and 15 minutes (including time for the pastry to chill)

You will need For the salsa verde:
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp fresh basil leaves
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
1 garlic clove, halved
3 anchovy fillets
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
Freshly ground black pepper
2 x 350g salmon fillets, skinned and bones removed
375g packet all-butter puff pastry
A little plain flour, to dust
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp milk

 

For the dressing:
2 large firm but ripe tomatoes
Pinch of salt
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
1⁄2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Method
1. To make the salsa verde, put the herbs into a processor and whizz until smooth. Add the garlic, anchovies, mustard, egg yolk, and some freshly ground black pepper (but no salt) and whizz again until smooth.
2. Arrange one fillet on a chopping board and spread the salsa verde over the top in an even layer. Sit the other fillet on top so it looks like a whole fish.
3. Cut two-thirds of the pastry from the block (freeze the rest for later) and place on a piece of lightly floured baking parchment. Roll it out so it is long enough and wide enough to enclose the fillets completely. Sit the fillets in the centre and brush the pastry with the beaten egg (reserving some for later). Fold the ends of the pastry over the fillet and bring the sides up to meet at the top. Pinch the edges together with your fingers. Chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 220 ̊C / gas mark 7 and put a baking sheet in to get hot. Brush the en croûte with beaten egg, then coarsely grate the frozen pastry and scatter on top.
5. Transfer the en croûte (still on the baking parchment) to the hot baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden and cooked at the top and bottom. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Plunge the tomatoes into boiling salted water for one minute, then remove with a slotted spoon, plunge into cold water, and drain. Remove the skins, then deseed, cut into dice and tip into a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir to combine.
7. Carve the en croûte into thick slices and serve the dressing alongside in a bowl.

....bon appetit et Joyeuse Saint-Valentin à tous, Leeann x