A pastry parcel filled with succulent salmon and seasonal watercress that diners will love opening.
Ingredients
- 4 x 175g thick salmon fillets, skinned
- 125g unsalted butter, softened
- 25g watercress leaves
- Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 heaped tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
- 1½ tsp finely chopped fresh chives
- ½ tsp salt
- 500g block chilled puff pastry
- Flour, for dusting
- 1 medium egg, beaten
Method
- 1. Season the salmon. Put the butter, watercress, lemon zest and juice, herbs and salt into a food processor, and whizz briefly to form a paste.
- 2. Cut the pastry into 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece out to a rectangle of about 17 x 23cm. Put each fillet to 1 side of each rectangle. Divide the herb butter into 4, then put 1 on top of each fillet. Brush the pastry edges with some egg, then fold the other side of pastry over the butter and salmon. Seal the edges with a fork and, using a sharp knife, make 3 slits in the top of each parcel.
- 3. Place the parcels side by side on a tray, spaced apart. To cook, preheat the oven to 200°C/ fan180°C/gas 6. Brush the parcels with egg and bake for 20 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and golden and just cooked through. Salmon is best when still slightly pink in the centre.
Nutritional info
Per serving: 1,045kcals, 77.4g fat (34.7g saturated), 45.1g protein, 47.8g carbs, 1.9g sugar, 2.4g salt
Chef's tip
To cook from fresh, make up to the end of step 2, brush with beaten egg and bake at 200°C/ fan180°C/gas 6 for 18-20 minutes. Serve with new potatoes and sugar snap peas, or a dressed green salad.