Feuilletés de saumon aux asperges pt 1

6 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
10 ounces Flour
5 fluid ounce Water; up to 6
1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Melted butter
7 ounces Butter
1 Egg; sightly beaten, for glazing
7 ounces Butter
3 tablespoons Lemon juice; strained
Salt
White pepper
1½ pounds Fresh spinach
1 ounce Butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 pounds Green asparagus
1½ pounds Boneless salmon fillet
½ ounce Butter
1 small Bunch chives; chopped
Butter; softened, for baking sheet

Directions

PUFF PASTRY

LEMON BUTTER SAUCE

VEGGIES/FISH

Here is my gourmet Friday recipe. >From the Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Puff Pastry Cases with Salmon and Asparagus and a Lemon Butter Sauce SERVES 6

This combination or pastry, vegetables and fish is a typically modern creation in which each element is prepared separately. The vegetables are an integral part of the dish, rather than simply a garnish, and the sauce is the essence of simplicity (butter is whisked into lemon juice, seasoned and served). In all, this is the sort of light French cooking that many young chefs prefer.

Prepare the puff pastry.

Preheat the oven to 230 C (450 F) mark 8. Lightly brush a baking sheet with the softened butter. Sprinkle with water; set aside.

Prepare the pastry cases (see technique photographs): dust a work surface with flour. Roll out the puff pastry about 3 mm (⅛ inch) thick and cut into 6 rectangles, 10 cm (4 inches) long x 6½ cm (2½ inches) wide. Or, use an oval cutter of approximately the same dimensions, if available.

Transfer the shapes to the baking sheet with a palette knife. Brush the tops with egg glaze. Be careful not to let the egg drip over the edges of the pastry, or it will not rise evenly. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. When chilled, brush again with egg glaze and bake for about 25 minutes, until puffed and golden. Leave to cool.

While the pastry is baking, cut the salmon into escalopes: working from tail to head, run your fingers along the surface of the salmon fillets to detect any small bones; remove them. Holding the knife at a shallow angle to the fish, cut the salmon into 6 equal portions, or escalopes. Set the salmon aside.

Stem the spinach and rinse the leaves in several changes of water, then coarsely chop it. Melt 30 g (1 oz) of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, add the spinach, and cook, stirring frequently, until the moisture has evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper; cover to keep warm.

Snap off and discard the tough ends of the asparagus. Starting 2½ cm (1 inch) below the tip, peel each stalk with a vegetable peeler. Tie the asparagus into several even bundles with fine string. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the asparagus and cook over high heat for 10-12 minutes, until tender. Drain and cover to keep warm.

Prepare the lemon butter sauce: cut the butter into small pieces. Bring the lemon juice to the boil in a small saucepan and reduce by half. Whisk in the butter little by little, until the sauce is creamy. Season to taste with salt and white pepper; keep warm off the heat in a saucepan of hot water.

Cook the salmon: season both sides of each escalope with salt and pepper.

continued in part 2

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