Salmon en Croute

Great for posh dinners and when you want jazz up your salmon!

Ingredients:

Approx 10g bunch of basil

Approx 5g bunch dill

60g unsalted butter at room temperature

Zest of 1 lemon

1 x approx 1kg side of salmon, skinned, pin boned and cut in half

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Plain flour, dust

500g shortcrust pastry

1 x egg

Olive oil

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/gas 6.

2. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out the pastry using the salmon as a guide size. Leave to rest in a cool place.

3. Place the softened butter in a large bowl. Use scissors to roughly chop in the dill and basil before grating in the lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper and mix.

4. Pat the salmon fillets dry using kitchen paper and season with salt and pepper. Spread the butter mixture over one side of the fillet and the wholegrain mustard on the other. Sandwich the two salmon fillets together, in opposite directions so that both ends are of a similar thickness.

5. Beat 1 egg to make your egg wash. Place the salmon in the centre of the pastry and brush around it with the egg wash, season with salt and pepper. Bring up the longest pastry sides, trimming as much excess away as possible, and tuck them in before folding the shorter pastry edges over to form a neat parcel. Turn the whole thing over so that the seam is sitting on the bottom, and transfer to a non-stick baking tray. Brush with egg wash over the outside. Mark the pastry using the back of a small knife to make a cross hatch. Mark again to show 4 portions. Finally season the salmon parcel with salt and pepper.

6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.