SALMON WELLINGTON WITH A WHITE WINE & CREAM SAUCE

In the 1980s, at my Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, I used to do individual parcels of wild salmon in puff pastry with tarragon and butter. The problem that I almost didn’t want to admit was that the internal butter and juice from the salmon made the pastry a bit soggy. The point of wellington is to surround the flesh with something that will encase the moisture, so in this dish the pastry is nice and crisp and vies for star status on our Christmas Eve menu.

Serves 6 as a main course

● 1kg (2lb 4oz) side of salmon, skinned

● 500g block of all-butter puff pastry

● Flour, for dusting

● 1 egg, beaten with 1tsp water

For the mushroom filling

● 20g (¾oz) unsalted butter

● 1tsp sunflower oil

● 2 shallots, finely chopped

● 300g (10½oz) mushrooms, finely chopped (shiitake, oyster, portobello or whatever you like)

● 120g (4¼oz) mascarpone cheese

● Zest of ½ a lemon

● 3-4 tarragon sprigs, leaves stripped from the stalks and chopped

● A small handful each of flat-leaf parsley and chives, chopped

● Salt and black pepper

For the white wine sauce

● 20g (¾oz) butter

● 1 shallot, finely chopped

● 100ml (3½fl oz) white wine

● 300ml (½pt) fish or chicken stock

● 150ml (¼pt) double cream

● 40g (1½oz) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

● 1tbsp each chopped chives and parsley

Make the mushroom filling. Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan and, when the butter has melted, add the shallots. Let them soften for a minute or so, then add the mushrooms and cook over a medium heat until they have released their liquid and it has evaporated. Allow to cool. Stir in the mascarpone, lemon zest and herbs and season with salt and black pepper.

Cut the salmon fillet in half and trim, then set it aside in the fridge while you prepare the pastry. Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.

Cut one third off the pastry block, then re-wrap the larger piece and chill. On a floured board, roll out the pastry third to a rectangle a little larger than one of the pieces of salmon – they will be stacked one on top of the other. Put the rolled-out pastry in a shallow baking tray lined with baking paper. Prick all over with a fork to prevent it from rising too much.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until crisp and golden.

Remove and leave to cool.

Remove the remaining pastry from the fridge and roll out into a rectangle about 5cm (2in) larger than the first. Smooth half the mushroom mixture on to the pastry base and top with both pieces

of salmon, one on top of the other. Spread the remaining mushroom mixture over the top piece of salmon and around the sides. Drape the larger piece of pastry over the fish and tuck it under the pastry base, as if you were making a bed and tucking the sheet in. Using the rounded end of a teaspoon, mark the pastry all over to replicate fish scales. Brush all over with beaten egg (reserving the remainder), then cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

When you’re ready to cook the wellington, preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7. Glaze the wellington with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6 and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the pastry is crisp, risen and golden. Using a temperature probe, check that the thickest part is 55°C. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a pan and cook the shallot until softened. Add the wine, bring to the boil and cook until reduced by a third. Add the stock and cream and bring back up to the boil, then reduce the heat and whisk in the butter, one cube at a time. Season and stir in the chives and parsley. Keep the sauce warm and serve alongside the salmon.