Salmon and Asparagus en Croute

Salmon en croute is delicious at the best of times, but wrap that fillet in parma ham and stuff with   asparagus tips and you've got a great meal on your hands. 

It's simple to create, especially if you use shop-bought puff pastry.

Recipe (link here):

Ingredients

800g salmon fillet, skin removed
1 lemon, zested
25g fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
80g pack Waitrose Prosciutto Crudo
200g asparagus tips
500g block puff pastry
1 medium Waitrose British Blacktail Free Range Egg, beaten
 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4. Lay the salmon fillet out and season both sides with salt, pepper, lemon zest, chopped parsley and olive oil. Trim the thinner end of the fish so the fillet is roughly the same width all the way along, then slice in half down the centre width-wise. 

2. Place a large sheet of clingfilm over the work surface and lay out the slices of prosciutto so they just overlap at the edges. They should stick together into one layer that is big enough to wrap around the salmon. Line up one piece of raw salmon along the bottom edge of the ham, and arrange the asparagus tips in a layer over the top of the salmon. If any of the asparagus sticks out over the edges of the salmon, trim them to fit. Top with the second piece of salmon and gently wrap the whole piece with the ham.

3. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, roughly 38x30cm. Place the salmon parcel onto one half of the pastry and brush the edges of pastry with beaten egg. Fold the pastry over the salmon and seal the edges together. Trim the edges and use a round cutter to make a scallop pattern. Use the offcuts of pastry to decorate the pie – I’ve made pastry asparagus. 

4. Transfer the salmon en croute to a large baking tray and brush with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown and the salmon is cooked through. Serve immediately.