A Dazzling Fish Dinner

By Billa

This past New Year’s Eve, we were hosting a dinner for eight. As we were only responsible for a main course, we knew we wanted to make it really special - something with pizzazz. In particular, I thought fish inside a pastry would be impressive. I had done such a dish once before, a salmon coulibiac - a Russian fish pie with salmon, hard-boiled eggs, and mushrooms inside a puff pastry shell. So, I was ready to do it again with a slight twist: This time, I wanted the pastry that encased the fish to be shaped like a fish.

An online search revealed a recipe for sea bass in pastry (loup en croûte), a classic French recipe created by chef Paul Bocuse in the 1970’s. Inside the pastry there are two layers of fish with a layer of sautéed spinach sandwiched between them.

The recipe was widely imitated because it not only tasted good, it was also beautiful to look at. Even Julia Child was impressed and recreated it in her kitchen. I found the recipe posted on the Food Network site:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/loup-en-croute-17968517

One of two pastry fishes (loups en croûte) we served on New Year's Eve

Because the recipe serves 4-6 and we had 8 guests, we ended up doubling the recipe and making two pastry fishes. (There was enough left over for a terrific lunch for two the next day.) As suggested, we used branzino (European sea bass) fillets. The Food Network recipe also included a Choron sauce, which is a béarnaise sauce with a touch of tomato added. It calls for three egg yolks and a lot of butter, so I decided not to use it. Instead, I found a healthier version of a Choron sauce online. It uses olive oil instead of butter and no egg yolks.

http://www.activefrenchriviera.com/2023/03/modern-choron-sauce.html

The result? Everyone seemed to like it. I thought it was tasty, whimsical, and dazzling.

Having succeeded in duplicating the recipe, I wanted to create my own take on it. I chose to use salmon for the fish and a lemony dill sauce to accompany it.

One serving of the fish atop the sauce

My salmon in pastry for 2 with lemony dill sauce

The result? I liked my variation just as much as the original. They were different in that the original used branzino and a tomato-based sauce, whereas my version used salmon and a lemony sauce. But both looked amazing and tasted great.

The following recipe serves two:

Ingredients

For the salmon and pastry:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 large garlic clove, minced

5 ounces baby spinach

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 sheet puff pastry

8-ounce skinless salmon fillet, cut in two long pieces

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the sauce:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced or 1 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Melt butter in a large skillet. Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Place the spinach in a strainer. When cool enough to handle, place in a towel and squeeze out any remaining liquid. Set the spinach aside.

3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4. Roll the puff pastry into a rectangle of 10” x 14”. Cut in two widthwise. (You will have two 10” x 7” rectangles.) Place one piece of pastry on top of the parchment paper on the baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350F.

6. Place one piece of salmon fillet in the center of the pastry on the baking sheet. Rub with 1/2 teaspoon of oil and lightly season with salt and pepper. Top with the spinach. Then top that with the second piece of salmon, repeating the olive oil, salt, and pepper.

7. There will be a large part of pastry not covered by the fish and spinach. Brush that pastry all around the fish with the beaten egg. Lay the second piece of pastry on top of the first piece and press all around to seal the two pastry layers together.

8. Using a sharp knife and allowing a 1” margin, draw a fish shape, cutting away extra pastry, as you draw the fish. (It might be helpful to draw the fish shape on paper first or get an image off the Internet) Some of that extra pastry can be used to make an eye, fins, and a mouth. I used a melon baller to make scale-like indentations. Next, brush the entire surface of the pastry fish with beaten egg. Refrigerate the dish at this point from 30 minutes to 1 hour to firm up.

9. To make the sauce, whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

10. Bake the fish for 40 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes and serve by ladling a circle of sauce on each plate and topping it with a slice of fish.