I have the great pleasure of introducing another guest post by my beloved husband!
Although I’d like to say that Beef Wellington is everyone’s festive delicacy, that’s surely a falsehood, because for many, many people filet of beef is a profanity, and its accoutrement, foie gras, is an atrocity. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but Sally and I don’t share those sentiments. We love the Wellingon! We love it so much that we sought other variants. The one that we found, or in this case it’s even fair to say “invented,” is Salmon Wellington. Concocting a salmon Wellington is a bit like making an exquisite ham sandwich: you can garnish it with cheese or mustard or lettuce, or all three and more. So, we created our own variation of the dish, that includes Alaskan snow crab and a phyllo dough shell. It’s a light, …(OK, lighter) and a fresh experience that’s still rich with flavor.
SALMON WELLINGTON
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)
2 pieces of center-cut filet of salmon, skin removed
1/2 cup of Alaskan crab meat, cooked and shredded
1 Tbsp grape seed oil
1 celery stalk, finely minced
1 shallot, finely minced
1 lemon, zest and juice
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp fresh dill, minced
salt and pepper to taste
6 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed
melted butter
Heat the oil in a small skillet and saute the shallots and celery in medium-low heat until translucent and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the lemon zest and turn the heat off. Transfer to a small bowl and allow it to cool to lukewarm or room temperature. Mix the veggies with cooked crab meat, add the ginger and dill, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the fish, buy a thick piece of fresh atlantic or wild salmon and cut it into 3″ by 4″ pieces, or a bit larger if you desire. Remove the skin with a sharp knife (I prefer a ceramic knife for this) and carefully scrape away the central vein of dark, oily meat. Rinse the filet under running water and dry it on paper towels.
Open the sheets of phyllo dough, 2 at a time, and brush them lightly with melted butter (you can also use olive oil if you prefer). Lay 6 sheets on top of each other and place half of the crab mixture over the center, leaving a large border all around. Try to spread the crab mixture to cover more or less the same area that the salmon will occupy. Lay the salmon filet on top, season with salt and pepper, and squeeze a small amount of lemon juice over it. Wrap the phyllo dough around the filet. Invert the package, so that the crab is on top, and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut away any excess dough. Brush a little melted butter on top of the phyllo, and bake at 375 F for 25 minutes, until golden brown.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: As Phil said, we LOVE the Wellington, it is probably our “signature dish”, the one we turn to when we want to make a special meal. In fact, it was the first recipe we cooked together when we started dating, we even made the puff pastry from scratch. Fun times… 😉 This variation is quickly becoming my favorite, though. Salmon and phyllo dough make a winning combination, and the crab meat doesn’t hurt either. Over the years, we’ve made Salmon Wellington with many different toppings. Once, while living in Paris we made it for our Valentine’s dinner. Phil came up with a topping using a citric fruit similar to clementines, that was in season at the time. It was outstanding! Come to think of it, Valentine’s Day is not far away, and this would be a great meal for the occasion!
ONE YEAR AGO: The Green Chip Alternative
TWO YEARS AGO: Weekend Pita Project
THREE YEARS AGO: Let it snow, let it snow, eggs in snow
Bewitching Kitchen 
Great recipe, Sally and Phil! It sounds delicious, and I love that you came up with it together! 🙂
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Fun to cook together a special meal…
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Lovely and good work both of you. I’ve never liked working with phyllo dough, but I might give this a shot. Thanks.
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I think phyllo gets a bad reputation, as if you don’t work really fast it will mess up. I find it not that bad, actually. And I’ve often used olive oil in place of melted butter, it is easier to spread and the final product is not that different.
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Oh my goodness, this looks heavenly! And we just bought some wild salmon last night. Lucky us! Thank you for sharing with me! I hope you have a good start to your week. Stay happy and warm!
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Trying to stay happy and warm indeed! Hope you try this recipe, or any variation with salmon and phyllo. I sometimes do a very simple topping with just ginger, lemon zest and sometimes a little Thai curry paste.
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Healthier wellington! I really like this idea 🙂
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Waist-friendly! 😉
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Phil and Sally, I’m am so excited to try this. It sounds fabulous for a brunch I’m planning this Sunday. Of course I can’t serve this to guests before trying so I’m planning to test it out this week. Actually, I totally trust your recipes, I just want an excuse to see how iit turns out and get a taste!!
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I’m with you. Test it once, enjoy it twice… 🙂
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Genius! I think i use that term alot on here:) but genius- never thought to do salmon in my wellington! Love it
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I know you will be in love with this recipe, no matter how you decide to top the salmon. It’s like a white canvas, you can do whatever you want with this basic method.
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While I would still chow down on the beefy version, salmon wellington seems like an inspired idea. Yum!
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We love them both, but tend to make salmon wellington much more frequently, the beef version ends up as a once per year event, sometimes even less often than that.
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We love salmon wellington!! (though I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit, we almost always buy it…). Very happy to have a recipe for it particularly since this one does seem a smidge healthier then the ones typically available ;-). The crab meat is such an interesting addition. Thanks Phil!
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The crab makes it quite special and a lot more filling, but as I said in other replies, you can definitely do a very simple version that will still be extremely tasty and elegant. Phyllo does that, right?
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Great variation! I love the idea of using fish – yum.
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We also made it using steelhead trout, you need to adjust the cooking time but other that that, no changes
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If this is the sort of dish we can expect when you are both in the kitchen, may I kindly suggest that you both spend more time in the kitchen? 🙂
Like the others before me, this is a dish I will definitely make for myself. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
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Phil is all happy with the comments.. .indeed, this is a recipe that we feel it’s ours, beginning to end. Phil is much more adventurous in terms of coming up with recipes, I am the one who reads cookbooks…
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When I first married, dinner parties were much more of a rage than now, and ‘Beef Wellington’ well prepared could virtually earn you your spurs !! I love this variation on the theme: the salmon, a healthier ‘dough’, no pate and the lovely crab meat instead!! Will be attempted soonest 😉 !
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Hope you try it! It is still quite rich, but you won’t feel as though you need to run half a marathon next day 😉
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I may not ever have a beef wellington but I could totally be down with this salmon! It’s the perfect dinner party meal!
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It certainly is, and I think the way to do it is with individual portions. Don’t be afraid to do a smaller portion than you think you need – I actually could not finish mine, even thought the portion of fish was not that big. Of course, the crab topping adds a lot to it. Anyway, it’s a great recipe to entertain. I think you could assemble it and keep it in the fridge, but the timing for cooking could be slightly off then.
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I don’t know if I’ve ever had beef wellington. I think I need to! And I need to try this salmon wellington. I love the ingredients and all wrapped in phyllo! Yum!!!!! Phil’s citrus sauce sounds like it was a winner too. I’m all for fun date night recipes. I swear some of our best dates have been in the kitchen. 🙂
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We love our kitchen too, although the “old home” had a perfect kitchen, and this one needs some major improvements… but still, we have a lot of fun cooking together, even in the tiny nest in Los Angeles during our sabbatical
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This reminds me of a fabulous salmon wellington my sister-in-law made for us many New Year’s Eve’s ago.. I have such wonderful memories of it and had forgotten about it until now! I’m delighted to have the recipe now.. I will have to make it soon!
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Maybe she used puff pastry, which takes it to unprecedented levels of yumminess… but this version is plenty rich! 😉
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You know, I think she did, but there’s something about phyllo that I love:)
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Friday dinner this week! I just need to get the Phyllo. lovely.
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