Salmon en croute with a creamy fennel filling

This recipe came about simply because it has all of my favourite things wrapped in pastry and whats not to love about that!? It is also a play on Fennel a la grecque but with cream, because cream is lovely.

I served this with a spinach, beetroot, dill and orange salad but it would also go great with a puy lentil and roast celeriac mix or a citrusy kale salad with a few Jersey royal or Ratte potatoes.

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

400g skinned fillet of salmon

1 roll of puff pastry (all butter if possible)

2 large shallots / 8 little ones

1 large garlic clove- minced

4 fennel bulbs

1 lemon- zest and juice

25g butter

15 pearl onions - I used frozen (optional)

50ml white wine

15g chervil/ parsley

50ml double cream

1 egg for egg wash

To begin, make your fennel sauce, as this will need to be cool before you use it.

Top and tail the fennel and remove the ouster leaves.

Slice your fennel and shallots as thinly as possible, I used a mandolin.

Add butter to a pan and heat until melted and it begins to foam, add fennel and shallot mix.

After 5 mins add the garlic, defrosted pearl onions,

Take 4 squares and roll them until they are about 1.5 inches larger. fennel and shallots have softened.

Cover and and cook on a medium heat for aprox 20 mins or until the fennel and shallots have softened.

Add cream, the rest of the lemon zest, cover and cook for a future 6 mins or until the mixture has softened down.

Finish with 1tsp of lemon juice and finely chopped chervil.

Allow to cool.

Prep your salmon by skinning if needed, and cutting into 4 equal squares, leave in the fridge.

Cut your pastry into 8 squares about 1inch larger than your salmon.

Take 4 squares and roll them until they are about 1.5 inchs larger.

Take your smaller pastry squares, brush on egg wash and place your salmon on top followed by a large tablespoon of the cooled fennel sauce.

Take your rolled, larger square of pasty and place it over the top of your salmon and fennel mix.

Using the side of the your little fingers press the pastry together and seal with a fork and trim off the uneven sides.

Egg wash and season the top.

Allow to rest in the fridge for 30 mins before cooking in a preheated oven for 15/20 mins until a nice golden brown.

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