Salmon en croute recipe

Salmon en croute is a delicious alternative to turkey on Christmas Day, especially if you have people in your party who don't eat meat. This easy salmon recipe combines layers of crisp buttery pastry, spinach and fish to make an impressive treat.

Our recipe below will show you how to make Salmon en croute successfully at home. If you've got guests to impress, this will really do the trick.

This dish serves 6 people and will take around 45 mins to prepare and cook. It's the perfect alternative to your Christmas turkey, roast chicken for Sunday dinner and is a great party favourite that you'll want to make time and time again.

Ingredients

• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1tbsp chopped fresh or 1tsp dried dill
• 2 x 450g salmon fillets, skinned and boned
• 680g frozen ready-made puff pastry, thawed
• 300g frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 100g creamy soft cheese
• 105g cooked and peeled prawns
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Mix the lemon juice with the dill, season the mixture and rub it into the salmon fillets. Put them both in a non-metallic bowl and leave to marinate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C/gas 6. Roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a rectangle measuring 38 x 20cm. Put on a large baking sheet and prick the base all over with a fork. Chill for 30 mins, then bake until golden brown. Cool on a rack.
3. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the spinach, then mix in a bowl with the cream cheese and prawns. Season to taste.
4. Put the cooked pastry base onto a baking sheet and place one of the fillets in the centre. Spread with the cream cheese mixture and lay the other fillet on top.
5. Brush the border of the pastry with the beaten egg. Roll out the remaining pastry and place over the fish to cover it. Press lightly to seal. Trim the base, allowing a 1.5cm border all the way around and use trimmings to decorate the parcel. Make 2 slits in the top, brush with egg, and bake for 40 to 45 mins.

Can you reheat salmon en croute?

Yes you can! Although you want to make sure when reheating you do it at a low temperture and cook it slowly - take your time to make sure the fish doesn't dry out. Put your fish on a lined baking tray and cook at around 130° for 15 minutes.

Allow the fish to cook as long as it needs until it reaches an internal temperature of 50°-54°.

How to stop a soggy bottom

The last thing you want when making a delicious pastry dish is for your crust to go soggy. To stop that from happening there's a few steps you can take.

The first is to make sure you pat your fish dry with a kitchen roll to remove any excess moisture. Secondly, you can poke holes in your pastry to allow the steam to escape while cooking. This should prevent liquid leakage and allow the dough to cook properly at the bottom preventing a soggy base.