Preparation time
less than 30 mins
less than 30 mins
Cooking time
30 mins to 1 hour
30 mins to 1 hour
Serves
Serves 12
Serves 12
Wellingtons are fashionable again, but they don’t have to contain beef. A whole salmon en croûte is a lovely Christmas party centrepiece.
By Nigel Slater
From Nigel Slater’s 12 Tastes of Christmas
Ingredients
- 2 medium cucumbers, peeled
- 5 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp clear honey
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 50g/1¾oz fresh dill, finely chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 x 380g/13oz ready-made puff pastry sheet
- plain flour, for dusting
- 1 x 2.8kg/6lb salmon, skin removed and filleted into 2 pieces
- 1 free-range egg, beaten, combined with a little milk
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment.
- Slice the cucumbers lengthways, scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon, and chop into 1cm/½in thick pieces.
- Place the cucumbers in a mixing bowl with the mustard, honey, vinegar and finely chopped dill. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
- Roll the pastry out to 40cm/16in x 30cm/12in on a lightly floured surface. Lay on the lined baking tray.
- Lay one fillet in the centre of the pastry, pile half of the filling on top and then cover with the second fillet.
- Brush the edges of the pastry with the mixture of milk and beaten egg.
- Fold the pastry over the fish, sealing the edges by pressing them together, leaving a gap in the centre, so that you can see inside.
- Brush the pastry with more beaten egg and milk and bake for 45 minutes.
- Serve with the remaining cucumber mixture.