The French words ‘En Croute‘ mean ‘in crust’ and that’s exactly what this dish is. All ‘plates en croute’ are just a filling (usually a piece of meat) wrapped in puff pastry and baked. You can see it popularly with Pâté En Croute, of which there’s a picture on my article, PÂTÉ: THE REASON FOR IT AT YOUR NEXT PARTY. This salmon en croute however is a lot more palatable for the average person. You just need a piece of puff pastry, a beautiful side of salmon, and some herb butter to make this dish perfect for entertaining.
I love making this dish when having a small get together for two reasons. The first is that it is unique, most people have not had it before so it is a nice experience for them. The second is that it is extremely easy to make, and is ready all at once. Meaning the passive time in the oven can be used to socialize or make cocktails. Then when the timer goes off and you let it rest for 5 minutes, you just take out a bread knife, slice it up and serve.
Check Out Other Salmon Recipes Here
When making this dish the most important thing to do is use a good quality salmon. You will want to clean it of all bones and scales, and make sure it is as fresh as possible. It is okay if it was once frozen, but you don’t want it to have been laying out for a long time.
Salmon En Croute Ingredients
500 grams Puff Pastry
500 grams Salmon
3 tbsp Salted Butter
1 tsp Dill, chopped
1 tsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp Chives, chopped
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 Egg; for the egg wash
Coarse Salt
Salmon En Croute Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 225°C or about 425°F. Begin by cleaning your salmon of all the bones and scales. If there is excess oil seeping from the skin, pat that down with a paper towel.
2. Take the puff pastry and cut it into 2 sheets. On a baking tray lay down a piece of parchment paper, then a sheet of puff pastry, then the slab of salmon.
3. In a ramekin or small dish, mash together the butter with the chopped herbs and garlic powder. I just use a fork until everything is combined.
4. Spoon the herb butter mixture over the salmon pressing it down to cover most of the meat.
5. Take the other sheet of puff pastry and lie it over the fish completely covering it. Using your fingers, or a fork, press the two layers together to completely seal it. Cross hatch some cuts on top being careful not to completely cut through the top sheet. As you can see by this picture, I actually had 4 small sheets of puff pastry that I fused together to make 2 larger sized ones. This isn’t a problem as long as they can be fused well together.
6. In a small ramekin or bowl, beat the one egg. Take a pastry brush and give the top layer an egg wash, making sure to get every part of the dough. Sprinkle some coarse salt over the top.
7. Place in the oven for 22-25 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting it into slices with a bread knife. The Salmon En Croute is finished.
Notes:
Normally recipes that call for puff pastry want it as cold as possible before baking. Even going so far as to put the dish back in the fridge fro a half hour before putting it in the oven. I find that if you work fast enough this isn’t necessary. From start to finish this only takes me about 10 minutes if I have my mise en place so this entire dish takes less than a half hour.
Salmon en croute also makes a good dish to bring to someone else’s house if you went to go make dinner for someone. I just put the entire thing wrapped in parchment paper and lay it in an icebox for easy transport, apply the egg wash once you get to your destination.
If you have Pink Himalayan salt on hand, you can use that instead of regular coarse salt since it will match the color of the cooked salmon. It isn’t important, but does make it look a little cooler. I choose not to garnish this dish with anything, but I usually serve it with some light greens dressed in a vinaigrette.
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Salmon En Croute
Ingredients
- 500 grams Puff Pastry
- 500 grams Salmon
- 3 tbsp Salted Butter
- 1 tsp Dill chopped
- 1 tsp Chives chopped
- 1 tsp Parsley chopped
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 Egg
- Coarse Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 225°C or about 425°F. Begin by cleaning your salmon of all the bones and scales. If there is excess oil seeping from the skin, pat that down with a paper towel.
- Take the puff pastry and cut it into 2 sheets. On a baking tray lay down a piece of parchment paper, then a sheet of puff pastry, then the slab of salmon.
- In a ramekin or small dish, mash together the butter with the chopped herbs and garlic powder. I just use a fork until everything is combined.
- Spoon the herb butter mixture over the salmon pressing it down to cover most of the meat.
- Take the other sheet of puff pastry and lie it over the fish completely covering it. Using your fingers, or a fork, press the two layers together to completely seal it. Cross hatch some cuts on top being careful not to completely cut through the top sheet. As you can see by this picture, I actually had 4 small sheets of puff pastry that I fused together to make 2 larger sized ones. This isn't a problem as long as they can be fused well together.
- In a small ramekin or bowl, beat the one egg. Take a pastry brush and give the top layer an egg wash, making sure to get every part of the dough. Sprinkle some coarse salt over the top.
- Place in the oven for 22-25 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown. Remove and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting it into slices with a bread knife.
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