It's Swellington!

Why?

My partner, Gene, inspired this dish. We’d been eating a lot of puff pastry this summer. A lot as compared to almost none over the past 15-years. Anyway, Gene suggested we “do something with it”. The something turned out to be a Salmon Wellington, salmon wrapped in puff pastry (immediately dubbed Swellington by our friend Lawrence.)

What?

Our first attempt came out rather comical in appearance but quite delicious in flavor. Comical in that we cut the salmon into long fillets. When wrapped in pastry they formed elegant packages about 7 – 8 inches long and a couple inches wide. Well the pastry was true to its name and buffed. The Swellington came out of the oven looking like fluffy femur bones; all knobby on the ends and slender in the middle. But as I mentioned the flavor was great. Each bite a mixture of buttery, golden, crispy pastry and rich, perfectly done, pink salmon. Yum!

How Much? (assuming you have white wine vinegar and butter on hand)

Salmon Fillets - $16.48

Buff Pastry - $3.99

Basil - $1.99

Onion - $0.59

White wine – $12.99 (the recipe only takes a cup, so drink the rest with dinner!)

Total – $36.04

The Recipe:

Salmon Wellington (aka Swellington)

Ingredients

1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed

4 3/4-inch-thick 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets

1 tablespoon butter

6 tablespoons minced onion

2 tablespoons white wine or vermouth

4 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, tarragon, or parsley (or combination)

1 egg beaten to blend (for glaze)

Sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, diced

Preparation

For the salmon:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

1) Melt butter in a small sauté pan. Add 4 tablespoons onion and sauté until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in wine and 4 tablespoons of basil. Set aside.

2) Roll out each pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Cut each in half, forming four 12x6-inch rectangles. Place 1 salmon fillet (see note 1) in center of a rectangle, about 1 inch in from and parallel to a short edge (depending on the thickness of the fillet). Sprinkle each fillet with salt, pepper, and spread salmon evenly with a fourth of the onion/basil mixture.

3) Brush edges of rectangles with some glaze. Fold the short edges of pastry up and the long side over the top of the fillet enclosing it. Trim away any excess pastry and pinch to seal edges of pastry (see note 2). Repeat with remain fillets.

4) Place pastries on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Brush with glaze. Bake pastries until dough is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

For the sauce:

Meanwhile, boil ½ cup wine, vinegar and 2 tablespoons onion in heavy small saucepan until liquid is reduced to 6 tablespoons, about 8 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Add butter 1 piece at a time, whisking until melted before adding next piece. Whisk in remaining 2 teaspoons of fresh herbs. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

To Serve:

Spoon a quarter of the sauce onto a plate and place the Swellington along side and serve.

Note 1: If necessary, salmon fillets can be cut and pieced together from compact, even rectangular “brick” of salmon.

Note 2: Extra puff pastry can be used as decoration on top of the Swellington. Cut out shapes (like leaves, flowers, geometric shapes), moisten them with a bit of water and arrange on top of the Swellington.