Baked Salmon in Puff Pastry with Cremini Mushroom Duxelle

By dcarriger56

This delicious recipe for salmon wellington, or salmon en croûte, features a cremini mushroom sauce atop wild king salmon, wrapped and baked in puff pastry. This elegant meal is much easier to prepare than you might think-- puff pastry is easy to work with. I served with with a beurre blanc sauce, as well. We loved this! You can view the Duxelle recipe by clicking here: http://keyingredient.com/recipes/243294/cremini-mushroom-duxelle/

Ingredients

• For the Duxelle:
• 4 - 4 -6 oz fresh wild Alaskan king salmon, skin removed
• 1 cup mushroom duxelle
• 1 10" x 16" (26cm x 40cm) sheet puff pastry
• salt
• 8 oz (approx 2 cups) fresh cremini mushrooms
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup shallots, finely diced
• 2 Tbsp white wine (or dry vermouth)
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup whipping cream

Preparation

Step 1

For the Duxelles:
Rinse and thoroughly pat dry cremini mushrooms before using a food processor or sharp knife to finely mince.

Melt butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté until soft. Stir in cremini mushrooms and simmer for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing the mushrooms to cook down while their moisture evaporates.

Add white wine, thyme and salt. Simmer for an additional 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in whipping cream. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate. Makes 1 cup.

NOTE: I froze the remaining Duxelles, for a month. It thawed perfectly, and was delicious spread over puff pastry and rolled, sliced into pinwheels. Bake at 400F for about 10-12 minutes.

Elegant yet easy to prepare, salmon wellington makes a lovely entrée for a dinner party or evening in as the puff pastry parcels can be prepared and refrigerated for up to two hours before being baked.

For the Wellington:
1. Cut puff pastry into four equal 5" x 8" (13cm x 20cm) sheets. Approximate measurements are suitable.

Spread 1/4 cup mushroom duxelle evenly onto each sheet of puff pastry, leaving a 1/2" (1 cm) margin at the edges. Place a salmon fillet in the center of each prepared pastry, seasoning each with a sprinkle of salt.

Fold up edges in a lengthwise and press puff pastry together to seal a seam across the center of the salmon fillet. Flip pastry over so that seam is hidden and gently press the sides together to close.

NOTE: I brushed an egg wash over each wellington, to give a lovely golden color to the pastry.

Bake salmon wellington at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until puff-pastry is flaky and golden brown.

If using previously frozen salmon, allow fillets to completely thaw before assembling the salmon puff-pastry.

NOTE: These can also be frozen, and then baked for a little extra time. I also tested reheating one of these, after they were baked, in a conventional oven (do not microwave), and they turned out just fine!