I have seen the end of this recipe, featured one day in “French cooking”, on the Food Channel. Unfortunately, I didn’t see most of the episode, so I had to guess the ingredients myself. It looked pretty simple, and soooo delicious that I couldn’t resist, went to the Farmers market and bough a piece of salmon to try it – the same day!
It was a simple idea and I could fill in dots myself. I am pretty sure there is even proper name for this French dish, which I didn’t catch – for the same reason (turning on the TV just about when she was wrapping it up, and putting this beauty to the oven). So forgive me, I have made up my own name and version of this superb recipe.
Oh, by the way – it was truly delicious! The pastry dough prevented the salmon from drying, so it stayed super moist, and the whole dish was such a great looking presentation – I am planning to make it for my next guests. Please let me know if you try it. I am considering wrapping individual portions for each of my guests the next time.
Ingredients:
1-2 lb of salmon (depends on how many people you need to feed)
1 box of frozen puff pastry
1 lb of asparagus
1 small container of Mascarpone cheese
1 small container of canned artichoke hearts
1 clove of garlic
1 egg
handful of fresh parsley (or dill, if you prefer. I don’t 🙂 )
salt and pepper
Thaw the dough and roll out two similar size rectangles on floured table. Carefully spread one of the pastry rectangle on the baking sheet.
Cook asparagus in salted water to “al-dente”, drain and immediately place in bowl filled with ice water to preserve its green color. Cut off the tips of the asparagus.
Place Mascarpone cheese, asparagus tips, artichoke hearts (drained) and garlic in food processor. Add parsley to the cheese and mix together until smooth.
Clean salmon filet of skin, possible visible bones and dry it in paper towel. Season fish with salt and pepper. Place salmon in the middle of the pastry. Cover the top of the fish with cheese mixture and spread evenly with spoon.
Take the asparagus from the ice water and pat dry. Place the vegetables evenly on the fish (I used mix of green and white asparagus just to play with colors). Coat the uncovered dough edges with beaten egg, so the top dough will stick better to the bottom. Cover the fish with the other rectangle and push the edges back to seal. Make few cuts into the top of the dough with sharp knife to allow the steam out, while baking. Coat the dough with egg wash before baking so it will come out nice and shiny.
Preheat oven to 425F and bake the salmon for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve hot or warm, with your choice of vegetables. I used the rest of the asparagus. I believe this dish will be delicious even at the room temperature. The salmon came out fantastic, moist and delicious. Loved it!
Suggested wine pairing:
I have paired this dish with A by Acacia Pinot Noir and it work perfectly well with the richness of the salmon. Pinot Noir from French Burgundy, or other cooler region’s (like Oregon, Washington State, New Zealand) will work perfectly well too.
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