Salmon en Croute; cattle egrets

When we lived in Andorra there was a woman that, rumor has it, did almost everything she cooked ‘en croute’.

I was never lucky enough to receive a dinner invitation so I have no personal knowledge, but the idea intrigued me.

For one thing – wrapping things in pastry makes a lovely, impressive presentation.

For another thing (this one is more important) – it’s easy and the work can be done ahead.

I do not make my own pastry – that would require too much work and eliminate the ‘easy’ part of ‘en croute’.

I have done this salmon wrapped in phyllo and wrapped in puff pastry. I’ll have to make them each again as we can’t decide which we like best.

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Salmon en Croute

Print Recipe

This is an easy, fancy dinner for 2 but can be made ahead for an impressive dinner party. The salmon I buy is normally about 6″ x 1 1/2″ (15cm x 4cm)

• Author: Kate
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Fish

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 pieces of salmon, skinned, 6oz, (180gr) each 
• 4 sheets of phyllo (filo) dough
• 3 tsp dill weed
• 2 tsp whole grain mustard
• 2 tbs olive oil
• Tarragon Dill Sauce:
• 3/4 cup (6oz, 180ml) chicken broth
• 1 tsp dried dill weed
• 1 tsp dried tarragon   substitute 1 tbs fresh
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tbs cornstarch (maizena) dissolved in 2 tbs water
• 1/3 cup (3oz, 90ml) Greek yogurt

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Instructions

• Rinse salmon and pat dry. 
• Take 1 sheet of phyllo dough, brush lightly with oil, sprinkle with half of the dill weed. 
• Place another sheet of phyllo on top and brush with oil. 
• Place salmon on narrower end of dough about 3 inches from edge. 
• Spread 1 tsp mustard on top of salmon.
• Bring dough over top of salmon and fold in sides.  The phyllo is now as wide as the salmon. 
• Roll the salmon forward one complete turn. 
• Cut off any remaining phyllo and discard. 
• Brush both sides of packet with oil and place on a baking sheet. 
• Repeat with the other piece of salmon. 
• Bake at 400F (200C) for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Remove and serve with Dill Sauce on the side.
• Tarragon Dill Sauce:
• In small saucepan heat broth, paprika, herbs to boiling. 
• Mix cornstarch in water and stir into simmering stock.  
• Cook until thickened – should be quite thick. 
• Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.  Cover and keep warm until serving.

Notes

Note: Phyllo dough is very fragile and prone to drying out.  Use one sheet at a time and cover the remaining sheets with a slightly damp towel or paper towel.
You could use puff pastry in place of the phyllo. You would want enough to wrap the salmon once with enough of an overlap to seal it. Sprinkle the deal on the phyllo before wrapping the salmon.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 recipe
• Calories: 560
• Sugar: 2.4 g
• Sodium: 726.6 mg
• Fat: 30.3 g
• Saturated Fat: 5.4 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
• Fiber: 1.3 g
• Protein: 41.9 g
• Cholesterol: 101.8 mg

Keywords: salmon, en croute, baked salmon

If you want to skip the pastry: Baked Salmon with Lemon Mayonnaise.

My day is complete.

I have learned something new.

While I have always seen, and often commented on, the white birds that follow the cows around I have never googled what they are.

They are ‘cattle egrets’.

They look like egrets, and the locals call them egrets, but, in my mind, egrets are water birds… well, wading water birds.

Turns out they’re related, although not closely.

They also don’t photo well at a distance, but if you notice the white line at the far side of the pond, on the banks in the weeds, there are about 2 dozen cattle egrets standing there.

We don’t have cows (they eat the insects that the grazing cattle disturb) but we do have farmers plowing.

Apparently the tractors disturb enough bugs to keep the birds happy. They’re following him around the field.

Now you’ve (maybe) learned something new too!