Main dish

Jamie Oliver's Salmon en Croûte recipe

Name: Jamie Oliver's Salmon en Croûte
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: plain flour (for dusting); 500g pack of puff pastry; 800g salmon fillet, boneless; olive oil; sea salt and black pepper; 4 tbsp black olive tapenade paste; small bunch fresh basil; 2 ripe tomatoes; 150g ball of mozzarella cheese; 1 egg (to glaze)

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A rich, full-flavoured version of salmon en croûte with a black olive tapenade, tomato and mozzarella topping.

Prep15m
Cook35m
Total50m

fish jamie-oliver

Side view of pastry, salmon, tapenade, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella

Jamie Oliver’s open topped salmon en croûte, which features in his Ministry of Food book (affiliate link), has lots of different flavours and textures going on but doesn't require much effort beyond assembling and baking.

It’s a similar dish to pesto-topped salmon but far richer so it goes well with a simple salad or vegetables. I halve the recipe and use around 400g of salmon (four fillets), which means that the cooking time needs to be reduced otherwise the fish will overcook. As I cook for two I make two smaller salmon en croûtes so they can be cooked separately; one for tonight and one for tomorrow.

I make my own tapenade by blending black Kalamata olives (around 70g) with two sun-dried tomatoes and two roasted garlic cloves as I refuse to pay £4 for a tiny jar from Tesco. I don't mind spending money on ingredients but when you factor in the cost of the salmon, this dish can get pricey. Homemade tapenade takes less than five minutes to make, tastes great and leftovers can be eaten with crackers or pitta bread crisps.

Recipe credit

Ministry of Food (affiliate link) by Jamie Oliver.

Recipe

Jamie Oliver's Salmon en Croûte

Prep15m
Cook35m
Total50m

Serves: 4

Ingredients

plain flour (for dusting)
500g pack of puff pastry
800g salmon fillet, boneless
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
4 tbsp black olive tapenade paste
small bunch fresh basil
2 ripe tomatoes
150g ball of mozzarella cheese
1 egg (to glaze)

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C (180°C fan).
Dust a large, flat baking tray (preferably 30×15cm) with flour then dust your work surface and rolling pin. Roll out 500g of puff pastry to match the size of your baking tray then place it on the floured tray.
Drizzle some olive oil onto an 800g salmon fillet then season with a pinch of salt and pepper before transferring the fillet onto the pastry, skin side down.
Evenly spread 4 tablespoons of black olive tapenade paste over the top of the salmon.
Lay the leaves from a small handful of basil over the fish, then slice 2 ripe tomatoes and place them on top of the basil.
Scatter over 150g of torn mozzarella before finishing with another drizzle of olive oil and a little more salt and pepper.
Fold in the sides of the pastry to meet the salmon fillet, pinching the corners of the pastry together to hold it in place.
Beat 1 egg in a cup and use a pastry brush to thoroughly glaze the exposed pastry.
Place the salmon en croûte on the bottom shelf of the preheated oven and place another baking tray on the shelf directly above it to stop the pastry from browning too quickly. Cook for 35 minutes (but check if the fish is cooked through after 25 minutes, especially if you're halving the recipe) and serve immediately. The salmon goes well with steamed vegetables or a green salad.