Festive Salmon Wellington
‘Tis the season to level up your dinner game without breaking a sweat!
When holiday recipe requests started coming in, Salmon Wellington kept popping up - and I knew i had to make it.
Wellingtons can be quite heavy and time-consuming, so I've simplified it (while still keeping all the flavour!) and lightened up the flavours. I used lots of lemon, dill, spinach in this one, with a cream cheese + greek yoghurt combo that I love!
Nothing traditional about this combination, but my word it's delicious! The extra fibre from the spinach also helps through the richness while adding extra nutrients
For the pastry, go with all-butter puff for that perfectly flaky crust. I’m using Carême here, which I always have ready in my freezer!
What I love about this recipe is how flexible it is - I went with individual portions this time around, but you could absolutely make one show-stopping large wellington with a whole salmon fillet.
And to give the crust some holiday sparkle, I decided to have some fun with decorative pastry cut-outs.
This recipe hits all the right notes – fun presentation, make-ahead friendly, and most importantly, absolutely delicious. If you're looking for that perfect holiday main that lets you actually enjoy the festivities instead of spending all day cooking, this is it!
THE RECIPE
SERVES 4
Ingredients
For the filling:
60g/2 tbsp cream cheese, softened
40g/1 tbsp greek yoghurt
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon lemon juice
120g frozen chopped baby spinach
A handful of fresh dill
Zest of 1 medium lemon
1 onion, chopped finely
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
For the Wellington:
2x 150g salmon fillets, skin removed
½ sheet puff pastry, thawed (my favourite is Careme!)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
For the garnish:
A bed of rocket or spinach leaves, cherry tomato halves, your favourite fresh herbs
Directions
1. Prepare the filling:
In a pan over medium heat, sauté the onions in some olive oil till they’ve softened. Season with a small amount of salt and a dash of pepper.
Stir in the mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cook for another 2 mins.
Add in the frozen spinach and cook till it has wilted completely.
Remove this from the stove and set aside to cool.
Mix in the cream cheese, greek yoghurt, dill, and some extra pepper, and set aside.
2. Prepare the salmon:
Season the salmon fillets with a small amount of salt and a dash of pepper before assembling the Wellington. If you have fresh herbs, you can also place them on top of the salmon at this point.
3. Assemble the Wellington:
Roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle and spread the mustard right where you’ll place the salmon.
Place both salmon fillets on top of the mustard and spread the spinach and cream cheese mixture over the fillets.
Fold the pastry over the filling, sealing the edges tight, and cutting off any excess (which you can save for decorations later)
Place the folded Wellington on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush the top of the pastry with the beaten egg.
Cut a few slits in the top of the pastry to allow steam to escape and place any pastry cut outs you’d like to use for decoration. Brush with egg wash once more.
4. Bake:
Before baking, chill the Wellington in the fridge for at least 5 min for the pastry to firm up.
Preheat oven to 200ºC (fan).
Once ready, bake the Wellington in the oven for 8 min at 200ºC. Then, turn down the heat to 180ºC (fan) and continue to bake for another 8-12 min, or until the pastry is golden brown and the salmon is cooked.
You can also do this in the air fryer. For mine, I cooked it for 8 mins at 180ºC, turned it for even browning to cook for another 3 mins, and it was perfect!
Notes
For a lighter version, you can consider using an alternative like filo pastry or a savoury crepe.
For a twist, you can add some sun dried tomatoes or capers to the spinach-cream cheese mixture.
If you’re serving a group, many of the steps can be done in advance. Prepare the filling, wrap the fish, and even partially cook the pastry ahead of time. This will save you time and stress on the day of your Wellington party!
For the holiday period, use festive cookie cutters to shape the pastry into shapes like stars or snowflakes!
You can also make a large version of this by using a whole salmon portion. Just prepare more pastry to go with it!
Nutrition
Per Serving:
Calories: 415kcal
Carbohydrates: 24g
Protein: 30g
Fat: 32g
Sugar: 5.4g
Sodium: 547.75g
Fibre: 4.6g
Take note that the fat content for this recipe is on the higher side. So as with all things, remember to eat in moderation.