Salmon en Croute with Ginger and Currants

Salmon en Croute with Ginger and Currants

A nod of respect to the inventor of the original of this unusual but delicious dish to George Perry Smith once of the restaurant The Hole in the Wall in Bath......

 85g butter

1 lemon

2 knobs of stem ginger in syrup

2 tablespoons currants

pinch ground mace

6 x 125g salmon fillets, skinned

1 egg yolk

600 g shortcrust pastry

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crisp green salad to serve

Preheat oven 200 C/ 400 F/ Gas 6

Soften the butter in a bowl, and finely grate the zest of the lemon into it. Finely chop the stem ginger and beat into the butter with the currants and mace and season well. Season both sides of the salmon.

Roll out the pastry thinly to about a 54 x 36 cm rectangle, then cut out 6 x 18 cm squares. Place a piece of salmon onto each pastry square and top with a spoonful of the butter. Brush the edges of the pastry with water and bring up the edges like an envelope pinching the four edges together. Brush with the egg yolk and set aside in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Brush the salmon parcels with egg yolk again and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden.

Serve with a crisp green salad.