When I first discovered Salmon Wellington, I really thought it would be too complicated to make because it sounds complicated! That is not the case, thank goodness. Pretty enough for company but easy enough for a family dinner, you really have to try this to believe it. The hardest step is making creamed spinach to keep the salmon fillet company in a puff pastry.
My husband is from Alaska and fishes for salmon with his family, including me, every season. This gives us the wonderful opportunity to make great memories and fill our freezer too. I make a salmon dinner pretty much every week so I am constantly looking for new ways to prepare it. This Salmon Wellington is my new favorite! Here are the non fancy ingredients for two servings but this would be easy to double.
1 Plan ahead. Thaw a sheet of puff pastry in the refrigerator. A sheet is cut in half for two servings. Don’t thaw on the counter, you want the pastry cold but pliable.
2 Creamed Spinach. Finely dice a large shallot and 2 cloves of garlic. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add two tablespoons of butter. Once the butter is melted, saute shallots for a couple minutes then add garlic and two cups of fresh spinach. Saute until the spinach wilts down. It is amazing how much spinach wilts down and how quickly!
Add 3 ounces softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup grated parmesan. Stir until the cheese is melted and turn off the heat.
3 Salmon fillets. Skin or ask your fish department to skin the salmon fillets. Pat dry with paper towel and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Squeeze about a teaspoon of fresh lemon juice over the top of the fillets.
4 Puff Pastry Packages. Say that 3 times real fast! Preheat the oven to 350 while we build packages. Spread the puff pastry out on parchment paper. I also cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the sheet pan and sprayed it with pam. Cut the pastry in to two equal pieces. Place a pile of spinach in the middle of the pastry then place the salmon on it top side down (so skin side up).
Beat an egg with a tbsp of water, brush the pastry edges.
Fold the pastry over the salmon like a blanket and fold up the ends to completely cover the salmon and spinach. Flip the packages over on to the sheet pan and egg wash the top. This will give the package a golden crust. Cut shallow crisscross slits on the top.
5 Oven time. Bake the wellington for 35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown delicious and flaky. How pretty is that fancy little salmon package!
Dinner is ready!
Salmon Wellington
Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets, cut length way
- sheet of puff pastry
- large shallot, finely diced
- 2 cups of spinach
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1 egg
- half a lemon
- 1/4 cup parmesan
- 2 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350, thaw the puff pastry in the fridge.
- Heat a skillet over medium and add butter. Saute shallot for 2 minutes then add garlic and spinach.
- Saute until the spinach is wilted then add cream cheese and parmesan.
- Stir until melted and turn off the heat.
- Dry the salmon fillets then salt and pepper both sides. Squeeze fresh lemon over the top of the salmon.
- Spread the puff pastry on parchment paper and cut in half. Place and spray parchment paper in the sheet pan too.
- Spoon spinach in the middle of the pastry and place salmon top down on the spinach.
- Beat the egg with a Tbsp of water and egg wash the edges of the pastry.
- Fold the long sides over the salmon then fold up the bottom and top.
- Flip the packages on to the sheet pan so they are seam side down.
- Egg wash the top of the packages and lightly cut slits in a crisscross pattern on the top.
- Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown.