Hole in the Wall salmon stuffed with ginger & raisins

This is a classic recipe cooked by George Perry-smith at the Hole in the Wall in Bath many years ago. It’s usually served with sauce messine, rich with cream and fragrant with herbs. I don’t think it has dated as it’s very Middle Eastern in its flavours. This is one of my favourite dishes. I have cooked it so many times over the years – it’s a truly celebratory dish.

SERVES 8 PREP 40 mins plus chilling and cooling COOK 40 mins MORE EFFORT

100g butter, softened

40g blanched almonds, chopped

40g currants

4 balls stem ginger in syrup, very finely chopped grating of nutmeg

500g block puff pastry

1½ tbsp semolina

2 salmon side portions (about 500g each) cut from the middle, boneless and skin removed (or see tip)

½ lemon, juiced

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp milk

For the sauce

15g butter

1 shallot, very finely chopped

1½ tsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting

350ml double cream

1½ tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp each finely chopped parsley and chervil (or 2 tbsp chopped parsley)

2 tarragon sprigs, leaves picked and chopped

½ lemon, juiced

1 Mash the butter, almonds, currants, ginger and nutmeg together with a fork. Divide the pastry in two, making one piece slightly larger – this will be the top.

2 Roll out the smaller piece of pastry, for the base, on a lightly floured surface until it is large enough to fit the fish with a 2.5cm border all the way around it. Put this onto baking parchment or a non-stick metal baking sheet. Sprinkle the semolina over the pastry base.

3 Place one piece of the salmon on the pastry. Sprinkle over some lemon juice, season and spread the butter mixture over the top of it. Place the other half of the salmon, with the side that had the skin on it facing upwards, on top of the butter.

Brush any excess semolina off the edges of the pastry. Mix the egg yolk and milk together and use to brush the pastry around the salmon. Roll out the rest of the pastry to fit the top and, once you’ve laid it over, pinch the pastry edges together to seal. Use the excess pastry to make shapes to decorate the top. Chill for 30 mins and heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

4 Brush the salmon parcel with more egg wash and put in the oven for 40 mins. While it’s cooking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a small pan and fry the shallot until it softens. Add the flour and stir for 1 min. Take the pan off the heat and gradually pour in the cream. Put it back on the heat and gently bring to the boil. Turn the heat down, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a couple of minutes until the flavours of the herbs come through. Check for seasoning.

5 Leave the salmon to cool for about 10 mins, then move it onto a warm serving platter and serve with the sauce. I serve it with a watercress salad and little waxy potatoes.

GOOD TO KNOW omega-3

PER SERVING 893 kcals • fat 71g • saturates 33g • carbs 30g • sugars 8g • fibre 2g • protein 33g • salt 1.0g