FoodDesigner Freak

SAVORY SMOKED SALMON BREAKFAST PASTY

Yay!! Blog number two after my long snooze.

I’ve got an interesting take for a new savory breakfast treat. In my catering business I do quite a few events annually @ the British Consulate General in NYC. I’ve taken the British food ideas & put my own American spin to them while trying to preserve some of the integrity of the recipe by using familiar ingredients & maintaining the name. In this blog I intend to introduce The Pasty concept to the American public but repackage it with fun shapes and not the run of the mill ingredients.

For those who have not heard of the Cornish Pasty, this dish is commonly associated with Cornwall England, although its origin is unclear; the pasty could possibly go back as far as the 13^th Century. The most familiar ingredients used are minced beef, diced potatoes, swede, (yellow turnip) onion, salt & pepper. The contents are baked in a flat pastry circle that has been folded over into a half sphere and then edges crimped to seal in the goodies. It was a frequent lunch brought to the mines by the tin miners of Cornwall because the unique shape made it easy to carry, easy to eat without cutlery and most importantly provided a balanced hardy meal in one convenient package. The thick folded pastry could stay warm for hours in the mine and easily warmed up on a shovel over a candle. It would never dawn on me to use a shovel & candle as a stove. Maybe I’ll try that.

I have decided to bring on a new spin to The Pasty. I suppose you could say I’m going to Americanize it a bit; however my aim is to inform & share the versatility of this wonderful concept of food. The Pasty idea is unique in that you can use any filler imaginable, sweet or savory. Because most of us are not tin miners going to work in the mines, you can do any shape & doll it up with pastry appliqués to create a theme of choice. I have chosen to make a savory Smoked Salmon Breakfast Pasty with a flowery spring theme to hurry the winter away. I’ve got serious OCD when it comes to cookie cutters so don’t be discouraged if you do not have the flower shapes. Convenient sources for interesting cookie cutter shapes in my area of New Jersey are Michael’s, Party City and Target. Or go on line. There are many sites with every kind of shape one could think of. Or you can keep your Pasties plain. No fluff. So there it is.

IT’S PASTY TIME!

THE PASTY FACTORY

SAVORY SPRING THEME BREAKFAST PASTY

Smoked Salmon, Egg & Edam Cheese

MAKES 5 (With 4 ½ Diameter Round Cookie Cutter)

1 Package with 2 Rolled Pie Crust Ready to Bake (Pillsbury or Generic)

6 Ounces Smoked Salmon cut into small pieces

6 Ounces Edam Cheese (Grated)

½ Cup Chopped Scallions

1Tablespoon Cream Cheese (Optional, I add it in for a creamy affect)

½ Cup Chopped Cilantro (Again Optional, I had it so I used it)

1 Tablespoon Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix

6 Eggs

1 Egg for Egg Wash

Flour for rolling out pastry

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 large Round Cookie Cutter. I use the 4 ½” diameter however you can go smaller.

4 Flower Shaped Cookie Cutters from large to small for Flower Appliqué. Need five shapes of each (Optional if you don’t have the cookie cutter shapes)

MAKING BREAKFAST PASTRY FILLER

Preheat oven @ 350

In large measuring cup with spout or bowl beat 6 eggs and add Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix. Add to medium skillet with melted butter and stir till eggs are scrambled. Add scallions and cream cheese till blended. Remove from heat and add cilantro and Edam cheese.

On flat surface, paint with egg wash one pastry circle. Measure about a half of cup of filler and form into a ball shape and place in the center of the pastry circle. Add another circle directly on top, push down to flatten a little then press edges together all the way around and seal with fork creating a round pocket. Egg wash entire top surface then add pastry flower appliqué starting with large flower cookie cutter shape on the bottom use egg to glue each shape to each other, building from large to small creating a 3 dimensional flower.

Bake for about 20 minutes till brown.

THE INGREDIENTS

PASTRY & COOKIE CUTTERS

CUTTING THE SHAPES

SLICING SMOKED SALMON

SMOKED SALMON AND EGG FOR FILLER

PAINT PASTRY CIRCLE & ADD FILLER

FILLER IN CENTER OF PASTY CIRCLE

ADD PASTRY CIRCLE ON TOP

PRESS & SEAL WITH FORK & ADD FLOWER

PLACE ON PARCHMENT PAPER/ COOK SHEET & BAKE

BAKE TILL BROWN ABOUT 20 MINUTES

SERVE FOR BREAKFAST

So here it is finally another blog after… well since July of last year. I guess I have been very naughty not making it a priority. I have not been very committed… so there it is. I think I will be more committed now so please hang in there.

Okay so I’m back and want to share my recipe for Salmon Wellington. Although I’m not a baker and probably never will be because I hate measuring stuff, I do enjoy working with puff pastry as long as someone else makes it. Pepperidge Farm does a fine job.

I perused the food websites for what other people have done with Salmon Wellington and there are a lot of great recipes however I decided to take a different angle using fresh fruit and tangy hollandaise sauce. I was reading earlier that these old school sauces have made a comeback into food fashion. Never knew they left.

I do two different versions of this dish. One using sautéed portobello mushrooms & pate for the fall /winter and the spring/ summer recipe is with a lighter mango tomatillo salsa and cream cheese. I haven’t decided which I like the most.

So please give this recipe a shot and let me know what you think of it.. . and I will try to be a better blog person.

SALMON WELLINGTON

With Mango-Tomatillo Salsa & Orange Hollandaise Sauce

FALLIER STYLE

MAKES FOUR

1 Sheet Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry (Thaw)

4 6 to 8 Ounce fresh Salmon Filet Strips

Kosher Salt Sprinkle on Salmon Filet

Cream Cheese Approximately 4 tablespoons (Room Temp)

1 Egg for Pastry Egg Wash

Black Sesame Seeds

McCormick Hollandaise Sauce

½ Stick Butter

½ Cup Orange Juice

SALSA TOPPING

1 Fresh Mango (Finely Chopped)

2 Medium Size Tomatillo (Finely Chopped)

1 Red Onion (Finely Chopped)

4 Tablespoon Fresh Cilantro (Finely Chopped)

2 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoon Lime juice

1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce

For Salsa mix all ingredients together, cover & refrigerate.

MAKING THE SALMON WELLINGTON

Place one sheet of puff pastry on floured surface and cut into four equal parts.

Roll out each square to an approximate 8X8” square

Brush edges with egg wash

Cut Salmon Filet into approximately 2”wide by 6”long strips and roll them into a salmon mignon shape

Sprinkle with kosher salt and place in the center of pastry square.

Add a dollop of cream cheese at the top of the salmon mignon

Add salsa on top of cream cheese

Pull up and gather the edges of the pastry around salmon mignon encasing all ingredients creating a Hershey kiss shape.

Egg wash each Wellington and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake @ 375 for 30 minutes

MAKING THE ORANGE HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Add ½ stick butter to sauce pan and melt

Add McCormick Hollandaise Sauce mix and stir into butter

Add ½ cup water

Add ½ cup Orange Juice and blend together

Over medium heat stir till Hollandaise thickens

Remove Salmon Wellington from oven.

Add to plate and drizzle each with Hollandaise

Top with more salsa and serve.

YOU CAN FREEZE THESE

After assembling the Salmon Wellington place in aluminum tin on parchment paper. Do not let them touch each other. Top with parchment and freeze.

To bake after being frozen just remove from tin, place on parchment paper covered cookie sheet, add egg wash and sesame seeds and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.