Individual Salmon en Croute (or Salmon Wellington) is a classic French gourmet dish made with fresh salmon, spinach, and cream cheese wrapped in buttery and flaky puff pastry. Ready in just 40 minutes, this delicious salmon dish will be a family favorite that you will want to make again and again!
Jump to:
Salmon en Croute is an extremely flavorsome dish made with a handful of ingredients. Similar to Mediterranean Baked Salmon, it is simple enough to serve on a weekday, yet still fancy to wow your guests at a dinner party. Whether you’re cooking for yourself, or want to impress your guests, this Salmon en Croute is a real treat!
What is Salmon en Croute?
In the French language en croute means "in pastry", so the literal meaning of Salmon en Croute is "Salmon in Pastry". It is made with fresh salmon pieces topped with creamy spinach and then wrapped in a buttery and flaky puff pastry. The puff pastry is then brushed with egg wash, and baked in the oven until golden brown.
This fancy-looking Salmon en Croute (a.k.a Salmon Wellington or Puff Pastry Salmon) is perfect if you want to impress your special dinner guests!
Why This Recipe Works?
- Salmon en Croute is very easy to make with a few basic ingredients.
- It is easy enough to serve on a weeknight, but also a very impressive dish to wow your dinner guests.
- You can make Salmon Wellington a couple of days ahead and bake it just before serving.
- This Individual Salmon en Croute is already portioned, no need to worry about having perfectly shaped slices/portions while serving.
Ingredients and Substitutes
Salmon Fillets
Look out for the freshest salmon fillets, and if possible, wild-caught ones from a fishmonger. Although they are pricier than the farmed ones, they taste so much better and are nutrient-rich.
Ask your fishmonger to remove the skin for you unless you know how to skin salmon fillets yourself! Also, make sure there are no bones left in the salmon fillets. You can use fish bone pliers to remove the bones from salmon fillets before wrapping them in puff pastry.
Other ingredients you will need for Individual Salmon Wellington are:
- Puff pastry - I used rolled-up all-butter puff pastry sheet sizes of 35cm x 23cm (14"x9") weighing 320 grams. You can buy them fresh or frozen from supermarkets. If using frozen pastries, let them thaw before using them and bring them to room temperature.
- Spinach - I use fresh baby spinach leaves as they are sweeter in taste. You can also use chopped spinach leaves instead. Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly and dry them before cooking.
- Cream cheese - It adds a creamy texture and flavor that pairs perfectly with spinach. Use the full-fat version as the fat helps keep the salmon moist.
- Parmesan - Use a good quality block of parmesan and grate it just before using it. You can substitute it with Pecorino Romano.
- Shallots - They have a finer and sweeter flavor than onions but you can use onions if you don't have them in hand.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making this delicious Individual Salmon en Croute is extremely easy. And there are only a few simple tips and steps that you need to follow to achieve the best results:
Prepare the Spinach Filling
Put a wok or a large pan on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the shallots and gently sauté them until soft and translucent.
Stir in the garlic, salt, and freshly ground pepper.
And then add the spinach leaves. Don’t worry if it’s all piled up as it will wilt quickly.
When the spinach wilts, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the spinach mixture to a fine sieve to get rid of the extra liquid.
Let the spinach filling cool down for a few minutes, transfer it into a bowl, and then add the cream cheese along with the parmesan. Stir well and set it aside.
You can prepare the spinach filling up to 2 days in advance and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.
Wrap the Salmon Fillets
Preheat the oven to 180° C (360° F). Remove the skin from the salmon fillets if you didn't get your fishmonger to do it for you.
Cut the salmon fillets in halves so that we can have nicely shaped rectangular parcels. Set them aside on a plate.
Unfold the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut it into 4 equal rectangles.
Place 2 salmon pieces on one side of each of the puff pastries.
Divide the spinach mixture into 4 equal parts, and spread them evenly on salmon fillets. Smooth the spinach mixture out to avoid them falling over the sides.
Fold the empty side of the puff pastry over the salmon and press the edges to seal. Tuck the extra pastries underneath the parcel for a neat look.
Place them on a silicon paper-lined baking sheet and brush them with egg yolk.
Gently slit the top of the wrapped salmon parcels with a small sharp knife to create vents for steam to be released.
Bake them for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and flaky and the salmon fillets are cooked thoroughly.
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
What to Serve With Individual Salmon en Croute?
There are many options when it comes to side dishes to serve with Salmon Wellington. You can check my 16 Best Side Dishes for Salmon post for some inspiration.
Other side dishes you can serve with Puff Pastry Salmon are:
Sweet Potato Fries in Air Fryer, Spicy Thai Mango Salad, Greek Cucumber Salad, and Turkish Rice Pilaf (Sehriyeli Pilav).
Top Tips From the Chef
- Use cold salmon fillets straight out of the fridge to ensure the cooking time for salmon takes longer and they don't get overcooked by the time the puff pastry is cooked.
- Remove the skin from the salmon fillets if you didn't get your fishmonger to do it for you.
- Make sure the spinach mixture is cooled down before wrapping the pastries.
- Don't skip gently sliting the top of the wrapped salmon parcels with a small sharp knife to create vents for steam to be released.
- You can make the spinach mixture for up to two days in advance and keep it refrigerated until you need it.
Recipe FAQs
The leftovers would keep for up to 2 days when refrigerated in an airtight container. If you want to keep them longer, you can freeze them and keep them for up to a month.
There are a few reasons that might cause the pastry gets soggy:
1. You didn't let the spinach on a sieve long enough to drain the excess water.
2. The spinach filling was still hot when you placed them on salmon fillets.
3. You didn't cut slits on the puff pastry to allow steam to escape.
4. The oven wasn't preheated enough before starting to bake the pastries.
You can make Salmon Wellington a couple of days ahead and bake it just before serving. Just remember not to egg-wash the pastries until you are ready to bake them.
Related Recipes
For more scrumptious French recipes why not try:
Did you make this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this impressive French dish "Individual Salmon en Croute (or Salmon Wellington)" as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Individual Salmon en Croute
Equipment
Ingredients
- 520 g salmon (4x 130 grams salmon fillets)
- 320 g ready-rolled puff pastry (35 cm x 23 cm / 14" x 9")
- 20 g butter
- 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 small shallot (finely chopped)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 150 g spinach leaves (washed and dried)
- 70 g cream cheese
- 40 g parmesan (freshly grated)
- 1 egg yolk (for egg wash)
Instructions
Preparing the Spinach Filling
- Put a wok or a large pan on medium heat and melt the butter.
- Add the shallots and gently sauté them until soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, salt, and freshly ground pepper, and then add the spinach leaves. Don’t worry if it’s all piled up as it will wilt quickly.
- When the spinach wilts, remove the pan from the heat and transfer the spinach mixture to a fine sieve to get rid of the extra liquid.
- Let the spinach filling cool down for a few minutes, transfer it into a bowl, and then add the cream cheese along with the parmesan. Stir well and set it aside.
Wrapping the Salmon Fillets
- Preheat the oven to 180° C (360° F).
- Remove the skin from the salmon fillets if you didn't get your fishmonger to do it for you.
- Cut the salmon fillets in halves so that we can have nicely shaped rectangular parcels. Set them aside on a plate.
- Unfold the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut it into 4 equal rectangles.
- Place 2 salmon pieces on the side of each of the puff pastries.
- Divide the spinach mixture into 4 equal parts, and spread them evenly on salmon fillets. Smooth the spinach mixture out to avoid them falling over the sides.
- Fold the empty side of the puff pastry over the salmon and press the edges to seal.
- Place them on a silicon paper-lined baking sheet and brush them with egg yolk.
- Gently slit the top of the wrapped salmon parcels with a small sharp knife to create vents for steam to be released.
- Bake them for 20 minutes, until the pastry is golden and flaky and the salmon fillets are cooked thoroughly.
Notes
- Use cold salmon fillets straight out of the fridge to ensure the cooking time takes longer and they don't get overcooked by the time the puff pastry is cooked.
- Remove the skin from the salmon fillets if you didn't get your fishmonger to do it for you.
- Make sure the spinach mixture is cooled down before wrapping the pastries.
- Don't skip gently sliting the top of the wrapped salmon parcels with a small sharp knife to create vents for steam to be released.
- You can make the spinach mixture for up to two days in advance and keep it refrigerated until you need it.
Nutrition
This post use affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and then buy something, we get a small amount of commission to keep the site running, but it doesn’t cost you anything more.
Celine
This recipe was fabulous, looked and tasted great! Made it the day ahead and refrigerated. And the individual portions worked out perfectly.
Natalie
This is an amazing recipe with great instructions. I am making it again this weekend. Thank you for the recipe x
Ayla Clulee
Glad you enjoyed it, Natalie, Thank you for your lovely comment!
Ayla x