Salmon Baked in Puff Pastry ▶
Golden puff pastry packets are sliced to reveal pink salmon fillets stuffed with salmon mousse. A cream sauce based on champagne surrounds the slices.
Ingredients
- Salmon Mousse
- Salmon Fillet - 6 ounces
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
- Egg - 1
- Heavy (Whipping) Cream - 1-1/2 cups
- Salmon fillets - Eight, 4-ounce
- Puff Pastry - 8 pieces, approx. 5-By-7-inches each
- Egg - 1, lightly beaten
- Sauce Champagne
- Dry Champagne - 1/2 bottle (alt. sparkling wine)
- Salmon Bones - 4 to 5 ounces
- Shallots - 2 medium, minced
- Heavy (Whipping) Cream - 3 cups
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Instructions
To prepare the salmon: Chill the blade and bowl of a food processor in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes. Puree the 6 ounces of salmon in the food processor. Season with salt and pepper; add the egg. With the machine running, slowly pour in the cream. Adjust seasoning again. Pour the mousse into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Butterfly the 4-ounce salmon fillets: Slice down the center of each, halfway through, then turn the knife on its side and cut horizontally from the center toward each side, leaving 1/2 inch uncut along the sides. Open out like a book. Put a generous spoonful of mousse into the center of each, then close the flaps over the mousse; they will not completely cover the filling. Chill in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
Lay the pastry pieces on a work surface. Place a filled salmon pocket on each. Brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Set the packets on the prepared sheet, cut-side up. Bake 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown.
To make the sauce: Put the champagne, salmon bones, and shallots in a heavy saucepan and reduce to a glaze over medium-high heat, about 20 minutes. Almost all the liquid will be gone. Remove from heat and stir in the cream. Put back over medium heat and cook until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Season with salt and pepper and set aside in a warm place.
To serve: With an electric knife, slice each salmon packet into 3 pieces. Put 3 slices on each warmed serving plate and spoon sauce champagne around the slices.
