A snazzy Salmon Wellington!

This week Celebrity Chef and proprietor of the award-winning Little Geranium in La Cala de Mijas makes Master Chef style healthy Salmon Wellington

Wild about Salmon!

ON the foodie calendar October is not a great month for much really. It’s a bit too early for all those lovely root vegetables and winter fruits and a bit late for the beautiful soft summer fruits and vegetables.

With the fantastic weather we have been having here, it’s no wonder that we are not quite ready for the slow cooked stewy dishes quite yet and so I cooked salmon wellington for some friends at the restaurant last week and they were totally blown away by it! I said “well it’s just a salmon wellington”and they replied “OMG the flavours the textures are simply amazing. ”Simple, it is really, its an easy dish to make and a nice change to meat and not as expensive if you buy the right salmon.

So, what is the right salmon? Salmon varies in quality depending on where it is from and how it is farmed. The season for wild salmon is always May to about the end of September and so you won’t find it in October.

However, that’s one of the reasons I choose to write about it, because whilst wild salmon is off the menu (and is absolutely fantastic) it is also very expensive, like twice the price. So now the only salmon available is farmed and as long as it is farmed with some love and care it won’t have the toxins or high levels of mercury that cheap farmed salmon has.

I buy mine from a specialist supplier in Asturias (Northern Spain) and it is superb however the biggest producer in the world for farmed salmon is Norway. The quality is good and the price is usually fair as they have taken the lead in the market. It should say Farm-Raised Salmon from Norway, this is what to look for. Ask where the salmon is from and if it doesn’t say it does matter.

Certain parts of the world for example are producing cheaper farmed salmon but it’s riddled with chemicals which is in its feed and therefore high in toxins and mercury which is unhealthy. The big producers like the Norwegians have all their ducks (or rather salmons!) in a row, they have some impeccable farming methods and offer quality assurance. Salmon is a super food because of the high levels of Omega 3 which is a healthy and essential fat, necessary for cardiovascular health.

My friends had flown over from the UK specially and I asked about quarantine. “Lol”they said, “the UK is in such a muddle they can’t possibly police it and so we are not at all concerned. ”Hence, they are remaining nameless! In total contrast to that, my oldest daughter Serena is in Australia and just came out of a two-week quarantine in a government owned hotel which she describes as similar to a prison albeit she has never been in a prison!

“Dad, the food” she says, “comes in a polythene bag dumped outside your room as we are not allowed out of the room. ”After two weeks and umpteen Covid tests she has just been released. “Dad” she said, “I have been watching your food posts on Facebook and Instagram, the food is amazing, we need a chef here in Australia!” “Babes,” I said, “there are chefs in Australia but possibly not at the hotel you stayed in!

Master Chef Steven ́s Simple Salmon Wellington (Serves four)

• 1 kilo (Approx. 2lbs.)of good quality salmon skinless and boneless.
• Approx.300g of ready made puff pastry (I make my own but the ready made is far quicker and easier, buy the type that uses butter)
• 500g of brown cap or portobello mushrooms
• 3 large cloves of garlic peeled and sliced
• 1 white onion peeled and sliced
• 4 leaves of fresh basil
• 1 lemon and 1 lime
• seasoning
• Olive oil
• 2 egg yolks mixed together in a small dish

Method

• Firstly, make the mushroom duxelle which is like a mushroom pate.
• Wash then slice the mushrooms and heat a pan on a high heat. Fry the mushrooms in a little olive oil and add the sliced onions and garlic.
• Cook until a dark brown colour but not burned!
• Now blend in your food processor, pulsing is better as you still want some lumps (e.g.not totally smooth)
• Reserve in fridge for later
• Now cut the salmon into four small even portions about 200g each and seal in a hot pan on both sides in a little olive oil but only seal,(e.g.15 seconds each side).
• Squeeze the fresh lemon and lime juice over each salmon fillet.
• Roll out the pastry and cut into approx.14cm squares and place the salmon in the centre of each square.
• Top each piece of salmon with a generous coating of the duxelle and finish with a leaf of basil.
• Fold the pastry up over the salmon covering it entirely.
• Then twist any excess pastry at the bottom of each piece and remove some of the flack so that you don’t have thick pastry at the bottom.
• Keep them in a fridge until required

To cook the salmon

• Pre heat the oven to 200c.
• Brush the salmon wellingtons all over with the egg yolk mix and line a baking tray with baking paper or just use a little olive oil on a baking tray to avoid them sticking.
• Bake in the oven until the pastry is golden brown usually eight minutes.
• Remove and crisp the underneath of each wellington in a hot frying pan to seal the bases. Be careful not to burn.
• Serve with a truffle sauce, a simple version is made using thick cream reduced and then add truffle pieces (in most supermarkets) and some truffle oil and seasoning, or a simple mushroom sauce

Enjoy simple salmon wellington with Chef Steven ́s Master Chef expertise in your own home!

Follow Steven on Instagram ….@saunderschefThe Little Geranium, Winner of Best International Restaurant Spain…2020

www.thelittlegeranium.com

For bookings: Michele@thelittlegeranium.com

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