This salmon en croute recipe features salmon that is seasoned with a mixture of salt, pepper, and lemon juice, then placed on a bed of sauteed veggies. They are then wrapped in a dough and baked until the crust is golden brown and crispy and the salmon is tender.
Serve this French classic pie as the centerpiece for special occasions or small gatherings with friends and family. The dish is surely impressive enough to satisfy even the pickiest eaters.
What Is Salmon en Croute?
In the culinary world, the term “en croute” defines a food that is wrapped in pastry dough and then baked in the oven. The dough can be puff pastry or ordinary pie dough.
Salmon en croute has another name — salmon wellington. And as the name implies, it has a great popular cousin, beef wellington.
Back in the 14th-16th century, beef wellington was the fashionable dish among the higher classes. A fillet of beef is coated with paté and mushroom before being wrapped in ham and pastry and then baked.
Chefs have since experimented with this recipe using various types of proteins, especially those that might be easier to find and more affordable. Over time, salmon emerged as the ideal ingredient for this scrumptious and impressive recipe.
Interestingly, the French aren't the only ones to prepare protein so meticulously. Russian people have this dish called Salmon Coulibiac, prepared very similarly: a salmon filet wrapped in pastry with a vegetable mixture baked to golden brown. Unlike salmon en croute, it has prepared rice in it to make it fuller.
Is Salmon en Croute Healthy?
Baked dishes, in general, are often considered unhealthy due to their high saturated fat and sodium content.
It’s understandable since eating too much saturated fat can raise “bad” cholesterol in your blood, which can increase the risk of diabetes and heart diseases. Consuming too much sodium in the diet can also lead to high blood pressure and stroke.
For this salmon en croute, we’ve calculated carefully to create a delicious dish and more importantly, nutritionally healthy. Each serving contains 9.3 grams of saturated fat and 495 milligrams of sodium, keeping the dish in line with USDA eating guidelines.
Salmon, the star in this recipe, is a powerhouse of omega-3. This is an essential fat that our bodies can’t produce and have to absorb from food. The most impressive health benefits of salmon include supporting heart, skin, and cognitive health.
If you want to incorporate more salmon into your daily diet, check out our miso salmon or honey and mustard salmon recipe. They are both delectable and nutritionally balanced!
Main Ingredients in Salmon en Croute
Before we go in, let’s take a look at the required ingredients for this salmon en croute recipe:
- Salmon fillets: Once seasoned, salmon is wrapped in the puff pastry to soak up the goodness of the other filling ingredients. The fish then comes out moist, buttery, and irresistibly satisfying.
- Puff pastry: The pastry dough becomes buttery and crunchy once baked. It also acts as a cover to envelop the salmon fillet and keep the filling succulent.
- Mushrooms: This hearty element is sauteed in olive oil and garlic until softened. This combination provides subtle moisture that seeps into the salmon and keeps it tender throughout the baking process.
- Spinach: Spinach adds a scrumptious flavor and a moist layer to the filling. Plus, this veggie is packed with folate, vitamin C, K, and A.
- Lemon zest: We use it to add a dose of freshness and bright acidity to the salmon.
- Egg yolk: Brushing the egg wash over the top of the pastry is a simple technique to help it turn out golden brown in the oven.
Don’t be intimidated by salmon en croute’s long list of ingredients, the dish is quite straightforward and easy to make. Read below to see the recipe and get some handy tips.
How to Make Salmon en Croute
This is a short version of our how-to for salmon en croute. For the full cooking details, please go to the recipe card further down the page.
Follow the next section for some tips to help you master this fish pie recipe.
Tips
Salmon can pair nicely with a wide range of herbs and spices due to its bold and rich flavor. Some of the best complements are dill, fennel, tarragon, parsley, basil, and thyme. You can go wild and try out new combinations to find out your favorite.
A common mistake when baking pastry dishes is allowing your crust to go soggy. To prevent this unpleasant situation, make sure your filling is dry without any excess moisture.
You can also make a hole in the pastry to allow the steam to escape in the oven. This way the liquid will not leak, resulting in a nice crunchy base.
Can I Cook Salmon from Frozen?
For this particular recipe, we don’t recommend using frozen salmon. The frozen fish will release excess water during the baking process, resulting in a runny filling and soggy crust.
What to Serve with Salmon en Croute
If you are looking for ideas for side dishes that go well with salmon en croute, here are some great sides:
1. Mashed Potatoes
Traditionally, salmon en croute is served with some baked potatoes or baked vegetables. The creamy texture and rich flavor of mashed potatoes complement the fish and turn each bite into a wonderful experience.
2. Salad
Salmon en croute is not a light dish, so you can have it with something simple and fresh like a green salad. Besides giving a healthy dose of vitamins and nutrients, most green salads can be made in only a few minutes while the pie is in the oven.
We serve salmon en croute with mustard potato salad and watermelon cucumber juice on the side. They contribute 750 - calories to a meal that is both fulfilling and delicious.
How Long Does Salmon en Croute Last?
Cooked fish can last for a maximum of 4 days in the fridge, and up to 2 - 3 months in the freezer, according to the USDA. To store the dish properly, we suggest placing the salmon in an airtight container or a Ziplock bag before refrigerating.
For more salmon dishes that cook in the oven, check out this roundup of oven-baked recipes.
Salmon En Croute Recipe (Wellington)
This easy salmon en croute recipe (Wellington) combines layers of crispy buttery pastry, tender fish, hearty mushroom, and sweet spinach to make a palatable treat.
- cook TIME 40 mins
- prep TIME 15 mins
- total TIME 55 mins
- COURSE Main Course
- CUISINE French
- SERVINGS servings
- CALORIES 450 kcal
INGREDIENTS
- 17 oz boneless salmon
- 9 oz puff pastry dough
- 6 oz cremini mushrooms (sliced)
- 6 oz spinach
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp garlic (chopped)
- 1/4 tsp shallots (chopped)
- 1/2 tbsp fresh dill
- 1/2 egg yolk
INSTRUCTIONS
Season the salmon with 1/8 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, 1 tsp lemon juice, and 1 tsp lemon zest
Boil 6 oz spinach in a small pot. Squeeze water out of spinach and chop them roughly.
Once the spinach is done, in a nonstick skillet, stir fry 6 oz mushrooms, 1 tsp garlic, 1/t tsp shallots with 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and 1/8 tsp of salt over medium heat until softened. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl.
Dust your work surface with 2 tbsp flour, unwrap 9 oz puff pastry dough, and roll it out slightly with a rolling pin. Then transfer the dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Place the spinach on half of the dough, top with salmon, 1/2 tbsp dill, and stir-fried mushrooms.
Bring up the other half of the pastry dough and fold over the salmon filling. Trim the edges and press with your finger to seal. Brush the egg wash over the surface.
Bake at 360F for 20 minutes. Then transfer the dish to the lowest rack in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes. To get a golden brown crust, we bake for another 2 minutes at 480F.
Remove the salmon from the oven. Serve.
NUTRITION
Tuyet Pham
Chef, Culinary Consultant
Luna Regina
Writer, Author
Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
Nutrition Reviewer
- Linda sunn
February 23, 2023 at 4:43 AM
Very tasty, i will definitely be making it again.