I make - Salmon en croute

Also known as Coulibiac or Salmon Wellington. Traditional fillings include seasoned cooked rice or creamy mixture with dark leafy greens. I prefer my Mediterranean twist, simpler, lighter, equally tasty and looking pretty when sliced.

Salmon en croute

- 500 g all-butter puff pastry
- salmon fillets, skinned
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1-2 red bell peppers, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp of capers
- 1/2 tsp lemon-thyme seasoning (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste

First make the red pepper filling. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Sauté onion and pepper on slow-medium heat for 20 minutes or until tender and just lightly browned. At this stage, add in garlic and caper. Cook until the flavor develops. Sprinkle on some thyme or any Mediterranean herb you like. Season with salt and pepper. Leave the mixture to cool completely.

Cut the puff pastry block into halves (~250g each). Dust the wooden board with flour and roll the first half of the pastry into a rectangular shape. The exact surface area will depend on your pan, fish size and amount of ingredients. The rule of thumb is large enough to hold the fish and the filling completely with extra dough coming up half way from all sides. The thickness of the final rolled-out pastry should be roughly like that of your dough scraper (or 0.2-0.3 cm).

Season liberally salmon pieces with salt and pepper. Place the salmon pieces onto the puff pastry, leaving about half of an inch border on the pastry. Scatter the pepper-caper mixture onto the salmon.

Now roll out the second half of the puff pastry. This is to create the top cover for the salmon. You won't need the whole 250g of it. You could cut out 50g and freeze it for a later use or just make a slightly thicker top crust with the whole remaining amount. Once the second pastry is rolled, drape it onto the salmon with the help of your rolling pin. Tuck the top pastry underneath at all sides. Slit or score the top pretty. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle on poppy or sesame seeds.

Bake the salmon at 220C for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat down if the top becomes too brown.

Enjoy with a plate of salad.