Salmon En Croute with Salsa Agresto

This is a classic dish given a fresh new look with the addition of a salsa agresto. A great dish to impress guests when entertaining, while it might look tricky it’s deceptively easy to prepare. Serve with green beans (50g per person) tossed with lemon juice and, olive oil. Great main course for a special dinner or Christmas day lunch!

Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 6
Skill Level: intermediate

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Where to buy Carême Pastry

Ingredients

1 (435g packet) Carême Sour Cream Pastry, defrosted
75g Almonds
1 small clove garlic finely sliced
1 cup loosely packed parsley
1 cup loosely packed basil
110ml Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half lemon
Sea salt & ground black pepper
150g Crème Fraiche
2 heaped teaspoons capers (use good quality Australian grown capers packed in salt, rinse well)
2 teaspoons dill
Zest of 1 lemon
600g-650g salmon fillet (skinless), ask your fishmonger for a piece from the centre not tail end
1 egg yolk beaten for egg wash

Method

Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan forced).
To make the agresto roast the almonds for 5 minutes, remove and set to one side to cool.
Place the cooled almonds, garlic, parsley, basil, lemon juice, salt & pepper and a little of the olive oil in a blender, blend, and then with the motor still running slowing add the remaining olive oil, do not over-process.
The idea is to create a paste like texture that is not too runny, hence adding the olive oil slowly. Set this to one side.
For the Crème fraiche filling, ensure capes are well rinsed then finely chop, combine with crème fraiche, dill and lemon zest.
Check salmon for any bones by running your fingers over it and removing any with tweezers. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
Unroll pastry and cut the sheet into two pieces, one 24cm long the other 26cm long. Place the smaller piece of pastry on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Place the salmon on the pastry leaving at least a 2.5cm border all round, tuck the thin end of the fillet back under itself.
Top the salmon with the crème fraiche mixture, followed by the salsa agresto. Brush the pastry around the salmon with egg wash.
Take the remaining half of pastry and place over the top of the salmon to encase, pressing around edge to join. Now eggwash the entire parcel and place in the fridge for 15 minutes (or freezer for 10 minutes) to cool.
Remove and trim the border to create a neat finish and then decorate edge with a fork. Finish with another layer of eggwash for a super glossy finish.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until pastry golden brown. Remove from oven and leave for 10 minutes before cutting 6 portions with a serrated knife.