Salmon Parcels With Watercress, Arugula and Cream Cheese

Amarante

Sun, Aug 09 2020, 10:50 am

These are essentially the same recipe - salmon with a chopped green (spinach typically or a variant such as arugula or watercress) and some form of creamy cheese baked in a puff pastry.

I didn't have the need for the larger serving fo a whole salmon so I essentially combined the two recipes as I made the individual parcels from the first recipe but I thought the idea of the garlic cheese was a good one so I used that instead of the plain cream cheese from the first recipe.

The watercress and arugula are a bit "snappier" than spinach so those were excellent to elevate the dish but certainly one could use spinach or no use watercress which is sometimes more difficult to find than either arugula or spinach.

Either recipe is quite good and the results seem much more impressive than the work to produce which is always a good thing.

Salmon Parcels With Watercress, Arugula and Cream Cheese

Excerpt From: Jane Green - Good Taste

SERVES 4

Ingredients:

1 bag watercress
1 bag arugula
1 bag spinach
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
Zest of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4 salmon filets
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend the watercress, arugula and spinach in a food processor until finely chopped.

Add cream cheese, lemon zest and seasoning and pulse until blended.

Put ½ to one side to serve alongside salmon parcels.

Roll out pastry and cut into 4 squares.

Place salmon in middle, season and spread ¼ of the cream cheese mixture over the top. Pull corners of pastry over fish and seal at top. Brush with egg wash. Do this 4 times.

Cook for around 25 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

Serve with rest of cream cheese mixture and a green salad

Salmon En Croûte with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Excerpt From: Joan Nathan - The New American Cooking

When I was trying to think of an elegant but easy main course, a friend of mine, food consultant Ann Brody, passed along this recipe, which she developed to wow her clients at dinner parties. “It brought forth oohs and aahs,” she said. “A presentation piece like this, even though it’s no trouble, shows that you really care about your guests. And it is just plain fun and easy to make.”

Ann uses frozen puff pastry, available in supermarkets only since 1979. Before that, Pepperidge Farm had bought the patent for it from a European baker who came to work with them, offering at that time puff pastry to consumers only in their commercially produced strudel and apple turnovers.

In this savory dish, the fish and spinach steam in the pastry and the cheese melts, creating a wonderful combination of flavors in a crunchy, flaky crust.

YIELD: 10–12 SERVINGS

1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry, thawed in the refrigerator and still cold
1 salmon fillet (about 3 pounds), skinned and pin bones removed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
10 ounces garlic-herb goat cheese, softened
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons water

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. On a floured surface, roll out 1 sheet puff pastry to a rectangle about 20 inches by 10 inches and transfer it to the cookie sheet.

2. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper and lay it on top of the puff pastry, skin side down.

3. Using a spatula, spread the cheese over the top and sides of the salmon and cover it with the raw spinach. Beat the egg with the water and brush it on the pastry bordering the salmon.

4. Roll the second pastry sheet to another 20-by-10-inch rectangle and place it on top of the salmon. Gently press the dough around the salmon, pressing the edges to seal the pastry. Trim the pastry with a pastry wheel or sharp knife so that there is a ¾-inch border around the fish. Reserve the scraps. Brush the pastry with some egg wash. If you wish, cut the scraps decoratively and arrange on top. Brush again with the egg wash. Bake until golden on top, about 30 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature on a platter.