Who Is She?
Beef Wellington? We don’t know her. There’s a new gal in town, and she is the almighty Salmon Wellington!!! As you may know, I’m not the biggest meat-eater, so this Salmon Wellington is right up my alley! I also figured that this would be a great recipe to post for the holidays because she is a showstopper! Set this baby down onto your dinner table, and you’ll have people oohing and ahhing for sure.
Surprisingly, this recipe is relatively easy to make — the “hard” part is when the puff pastry comes into play. And here we are, yet again, using puff pastry! You already heard me go on and on about my love for prepared puff pastry dough in my previous post, so I’m not going to go over that again for your sake.
Where the Magic Begins
To assemble the Salmon Wellington, first you want to make sure that the salmon filet will fit in your puff pastry. You may need to trim the width or length of it. Season the salmon with salt and pepper then set it aside. On a sheet of parchment paper, lightly roll out the puff pastry with a rolling pin to flatten the seams.
Next, place your salmon filet in the center of your puff pastry dough. If your filet has a tail end where it tapers off, tuck it under the filet so that the thickness is even all around. You also want to make sure that the length of puff pastry dough, on each side of the filet, will be long enough to wrap over it.
Once those steps have been cleared, you can begin by cutting off the corners of the puff pastry. You don’t want to cut off a huge chunk of the dough though, so be sparing. After that, begin cutting 1 inch thick angled slits on each side.
Now, spread a 1/2 inch thick layer of the creamy mushroom and spinach mix on top of the salmon. And now we wrap!
To begin bundling the salmon, fold any excess pastry dough at the top over the top of the filet. Then begin folding strips of puff pastry dough over the salmon, alternating between the left and right strips. Before folding the last strip on each side, fold any excess puff pastry dough at the bottom over the bottom part of the filet. Then proceed to fold over the last strips of dough.
During this process, the puff pastry dough may have softened and gotten sticky. If so, lift the edges of the parchment paper to transfer the wrapped salmon to a sheet tray. Place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes to get the pastry dough nice and cold again.
Once the dough has chilled, brush the surface of it with an egg wash then place the salmon in the oven to bake.
When you’re done, you’ll have a moist salmon filet topped with a creamy mushroom and spinach mix all wrapped in a golden brown, flaky crust! It is truly divine!! This is one of those dishes that even impress myself, and immediately after making it, I made a mental note to make it for Christmas.
Step Outside of the Box
So, if you’re looking to impress, make this Salmon Wellington! My family, including myself, really love it, and it is definitely something different and outside of the box. I’m making it again for this upcoming Christmas, and I cannot wait to see my extended family’s reactions when I whip it out! Well, actually, some of them read my blog posts, so they may already know what’s coming. But despite that, I’m super excited to make this Salmon Wellington again, and I hope you make it as well! Happy holidays to you all, and I hope you have a great time with your friends and family! I’ll be back next week with a new recipe, so I’ll see you then!
Salmon Wellington
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs Boneless Skinless Salmon
- 1 1/2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1 Small Shallot (finely chopped)
- 3 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- 4 oz Cremini Mushrooms (finely chopped)
- 6 oz Frozen Chopped Spinach (thawed and excess water squeezed out)
- 1/4 cup Mascarpone Cheese
- 1 tsp Chopped Dill
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 3/4 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Sheet of Puff Pastry (thawed)
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp Water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400˚F.
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Melt the unsalted butter so that it coats the bottom of the pan. Once the butter has melted, add in the shallots and cook until translucent. Then add in the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant.
- Add in the cremini mushrooms and cook until the pan is dry and the mushrooms are no longer releasing water. Then stir in the spinach. Mix the mixture until everything is combined and transfer it to a bowl.
- Add in the mascarpone, dill, lemon juice, kosher salt, and black pepper to the bowl. Mix with a rubber spatula until combined. Set the mixture aside to cool.
- Place the thawed puff pastry onto a sheet of parchment paper. Use a rolling pin to roll the puff pastry to 1/8th inch thick and flatten the seams.
- Season both sides of the salmon filet with salt and pepper. Place the salmon in the center of the puff pastry. Spread the mushroom and spinach into an even layer on top of the salmon.
- Use a knife to cut the off the corners of the puff pastry. Begin making slits (1 inch thick and angled 45˚ downwards) on both sides of the puff pastry. Fold up the top edge of the puff pastry over the salmon. Begin folding the strips over the salmon, alternating between the left and right strips. Before folding over the last strip on both sides, fold up the bottom edge and then fold over the remaining left and right strips.
- Use the parchment paper to transfer the salmon to a sheet tray. If your puff pastry has gotten too soft and sticky, place the salmon into the freezer for 10 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a small bowl, mix together the egg and water to create an egg wash. When the salmon has finished chilling remove it from the freezer and use a pastry brush to coat the puff pastry with the egg wash. Place the tray into the oven for about 25-30 minutes. The salmon should reach an internal temperature of 135˚F and the puff pastry should be golden brown and flaky.
- When the salmon has fully cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
