Don't you just love puff pastry? This salmon en croute with dill cream sauce is a real show stopper and the flaky puff pastry is the leading lady to the moist salmon hero. I have become very enamoured with puff pastry this year, as it's so versatile and lends itself to so many things, including this salmon en croute I baked for my mother's birthday lunch yesterday.
A whole salmon is enclosed in delicate puff pastry and covered with a thick blend of spinach and cream cheese before being baked to perfection. The puff pastry is crisp, the salmon light and moist and the filling adds a decadent richness to proceedings. Deciding what sauce to serve with salmon en croute can be a tough one, and I made this dill cream sauce that works perfectly.
The key to a successful salmon en croute is to avoid too much moisture as it will leak out the sides and make everything soggy. Therefore be warned of the cream cheese as unless you buy very high quality from a farm shop or similar, it will have so much water in it - so be sure to squeeze it all out first.
It's fun to decorate the top with scales like a fish, and easy to do with a knife!
As I mentioned, I served this salmon en croute as part of a special occasion lunch menu, and if you're keen to recreate it then I made these parmesan biscuits to start and a greengage and hazelnut crumble to finish.
This dish might have a lot of decadent ingredients in it but it still feels relatively light and makes a lovely option for lunch.
Jump to:
Ingredients
As usual, I made this salmon en croute with ready-made all-butter puff pastry because it is just so much easier, but feel free to make your own if you prefer.
- Side of salmon (one side of a whole salmon fish)
- Puff pastry
- Spinach
- Shallot
- Cream cheese
- White wine
- Double cream
- Dijon mustard
- Butter
- Egg
- Parsley
- Dill
- Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Begin with the cream cheese filling.
Finely dice the shallot and fry it in some butter, before adding the spinach.
Cook until the moisture has gone, before allowing it to cool.
Place your cream cheese into a muslin cloth and squeeze out all the excess water.
Add the cream cheese, spinach and shallot to a food processor and blend until smooth and all incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set to one side.
Skin the salmon and trim it to the right size (you can use any leftovers to make fish cakes or even a fish pie).
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius / 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cut a piece of baking paper to fit an oven tray and grease it with butter. Lay one of the puff pastry sheets on top.
Lay the salmon on the puff pastry and cover in the cream cheese and spinach filling.
Brush an egg wash around the edges of the pastry and lay the second sheet on top of the fish. Press it down around the salmon and use a fork to crimp the edges together, sealing them.
Using a sharp knife, gently scrape a scale pattern into the top making sure you don't cut too deep.
Brush the egg wash over the whole thing, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Whilst your salmon en croute is in the oven, make the sauce for salmon en croute.
Sauce for salmon en croute
Heat some butter in a pan and fry the diced shallot. Add the white wine and bring it to a simmer, allowing it to cook down by two thirds (around 10-15 minutes).
Turn down the heat and add the cream, before bringing it back to a simmering point. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring continuously before adding the dijon mustard.
Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and herbs before serving.
Hint: When the salmon en croute is done, the puff pastry will be a golden brown colour.
Try not to open the oven at all during cooking, as it lets moisture into the oven, messes with the temperature and will stop the puff pastry from rising as much and crisping up to perfection. If you're worried about it overcooking, check on it with 5 minutes still to go.
Plating suggestions
A showstopper like a whole salmon en croute should be shown to guests in all its glory, so bring it out on a large platter or a wooden chopping board before slicing up and serving. Pour the dill cream sauce into a warm serving jug and allow guests to drizzle over their food before devouring.
Wine pairing
We need to cut through the dill cream sauce so a crisp and light white wine will pair wonderfully. Try a Sancerre, a sauvignon blanc or an unoaked chardonnay.
Equipment
I'd recommend using a large but shallow baking tray for this recipe, as you don't want too much steam around the puff pastry as it won't crisp up.
Storage
Store any leftovers in the fridge and eat within 2-3 days.
Top tip
If you love a wellington, I also have a pork wellington recipe which is another great showstopper.
Simply put, a food that is wrapped in pastry and baked in the oven is known as 'en croute' which is French for 'in crust'.
Yes, salmon en croute works well as a cold lunch or picnic item.
Avoid a baking tray with high sides as this will create steam. Also avoid baking the salmon en croute in an oven at the same time as anything with a high water content, like vegetables which will also create steam. And finally, do not open the oven whilst the salmon en croute is cooking, as it lets in moisture (which creates steam).
Yes, simply reheat in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the puff pastry is hot and crispy.
Salmon en croute with a dill cream sauce
Equipment
- food processor
- Frying pan
- Oven tray
- Baking parchment paper
Ingredients
Salmon en croute
- 1 kilogram salmon (whole side)
- 500 grams puff pastry (or use 2 ready rolled sheets)
- 180 grams cream cheese
- 150 grams spinach
- 1 shallot
- 1 egg For egg wash only
- 10 grams Butter
- salt and pepper
Dill cream sauce
- 400 ml Double cream
- 250 ml White wine
- 1 Shallot
- 10 grams butter
- 2 tablespoon parsley
- 2 tablespoon dill
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ lemon
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Cream cheese filling
- Finely dice the shallot and fry it in the butter over medium heat, before adding the spinach. Cook until the moisture has gone, before allowing it to cool completely.
- Place your cream cheese into a muslin cloth and squeeze out all the excess water. Then add the cream cheese, spinach and shallot to a food processor and blend until smooth and all incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper and set to one side.
Make the salmon en croute
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees C / 400 degrees F.
- Roll out the puff pastry into two rectangles so that both pieces are slightly larger than the salmon.
- Prepare the salmon. Remove the skin carefully with a sharp knife (or fish filleting knife), and trim it if needed (you can use any leftovers to make fish cakes or fish pie).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease it lightly with butter. Lay one of the puff pastry sheets on top.
- Lay the salmon on the puff pastry and spread the cream cheese and spinach filling all over the top, right to the sides.
- Brush an egg wash (one egg mixed with a tablespoon of water) around the edges of the bottom puff pastry sheet and lay the second sheet on top of the fish. Press it down around the salmon and use a fork to crimp the edges together, sealing them.
- Decorate your salmon in puff pastry. Using a sharp knife, gently score a scale pattern into the top making sure you don't cut too deep.
- Brush the egg wash over the whole salmon en croute, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.Rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Dill cream sauce
- Whilst your salmon en croute is in the oven, make the sauce.
- Heat some butter in a pan and fry the diced shallot. Add the white wine and bring it to a simmer, allowing it to cook down by half (around 10-15 minutes).
- Turn down the heat and add the cream, before bringing it back to a simmering point. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring continuously before adding the dijon mustard.
- Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
You may also like...
Jean says
this salmon puff pastry looks so good! you made the steps easy to follow!
Kalin says
YUM this sounds incredible and the puff pastry looks perfect! I haven’t had one in way too long
Linda says
I've had a craving for salmon en croute lately & so happy to have found your recipe! This is such an easy recipe to execute (thank you for the great instructions!) and absolutely delish! The fam is already asking when we'll have it again.
Kayla says
This salmon en croute was so delicious! The perfect dinner!
Giangi says
I enjoy salmon and this will be perfect for the holiday season. Thank you for sharing
Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says
This looks so beautiful and I bet tastes delicious. Definitely something to try making now that the cold weather is upon us!
Shilpa says
This looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing this easy recipe
Bianca says
I've just seen this on a cooking show last week and wanted to try it ever since! Just so good! So happy I found this recipe thank you!
Gina says
This is such a great dinner idea for family and friends. This is impressive to serve to guest.
Rob says
Delicious! I've always been too scared to try this before but I just tried this recipe and it worked brilliantly.
J Robinson says
How long before I cook it can I make it? 3 or 4 hours? A day? I want to prep well ahead…. Thx
Rosanna Stevens says
Hi! So you can make it the day before but it would be important to take a few precautions to prevent leakage of moisture into the pastry. Firstly, blot the salmon thoroughly to absorb any excess moisture. Secondly, the cream cheese that is in the filling would need to be strained through cheesecloth/muslin to get rid of any water content and make sure it’s really thick and dense. I have found that most cream cheeses, bar the expensive organic ones you find in farm shops, have so much water in them and this will complicate things for you if you make it too far in advance. And thirdly really squeeze out the spinach! But if everything is super dry before you assemble the salmon en croute then you’ll be fine! I hope you enjoy, thanks so much for trying it x