Are you looking for a show-stopping, original, striking starter that is also delicious for your special meals? Look no further—you’ve found it. I personally love it because it features salmon, a fish I adore for both its flavour and its properties. On this occasion, I’m sharing several smoked-salmon recipes that will come in handy for those festive days.
On the other hand, this recipe features puff pastry, another of my kitchen staples, with which you can prepare delicious puff pastry canapés to impress when you have guests at home. And, of course, also a delicious apple tart to which you can add a scoop of nougat ice cream.
Salmon Crown with a Courgette Rose
Although you can make the puff pastry from scratch, which is always a plus, buying the sheet chilled will help you save time and that you only have to worry about the filling. That said, note that puff pastry doesn’t take well to heat, as it loses its firmness. This means it’s best not to remove it from the fridge until you’re ready to cook it.
This salmon crown serves about five people and will be ready in under an hour. Take note of the ingredients list and read the step-by-step carefully because, although it’s easy, it has its little tricks.
Ingredients
- 2 rounds of puff pastry (refrigerated)
- 1 egg
- 4 salmon fillets
- 1 courgette, very thinly sliced
- 125 g cream cheese
- Dill
- White pepper
- Salt
Method
To make this crown, you’ll need two round sheets of puff pastry. When you buy them, make sure they are in this shape because some brands only offer them in a rectangular form.
- Roll out one sheet on its own parchment and prick it with a fork to prevent it from rising. Preheat the oven to 190 °C.
- Trim the salmon fillets of skin and bones, season with salt and pepper, and place them on the sheet so they form a circle, not pressing right up to the edge.
- Wrap the salmon with the pastry, folding the free edge inward. Make several deep cuts in the twist, about 3 centimetres apart. Turn the resulting portions 90°. Chill well covered so the pastry retains its firmness.
- Now that you’ve completed the first stage, it’s time for the second. Start by mixing the cheese with the dill. Then roll out the remaining sheet, cut it into strips of 1.5 cm, and brush them with the cheese mixture.
- Arrange the courgette slices, slightly overlapping, over the pastry. Roll one strip carefully and seal it to the next as you continue to roll, and so on for all of them. Place the “flower” in the centre of the crown.
- Bake the pastry for 20 minutes until it’s golden. Let it cool slightly and garnish with dill.
Would you like to go a step further? Serve the crown on a pretty serving dish or on a pastry doily… it will look as if it came from a shop!
