Celebration Alaska Salmon Wellington
Ingredients
• 2 sides wild Alaska salmon (choose ones the same size) approx 750g each, 1.5kg in total.
• 200g young spinach
• 4 tbsp green pesto sauce
• 250g roasted red peppers (packed in brine, drained and halved
• 2 x 270g packs filo pastry (6 sheets per pack), thawed if frozen
• 100g butter, melted
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Remove the skin from the sides of salmon (or ask your fishmonger to do this for you).
Put the spinach into a large colander and pour a kettleful of boiling water over it to wilt the leaves. Rinse with cold water and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Turn one whole piece of salmon over, so that side where the skin was removed is facing up. Spread with pesto sauce. Arrange the spinach evenly on top, then the roasted peppers. Season. Lift the second side of salmon on top to cover neatly (skin-removed side down), so that the filling is sandwiched in between. Season with salt and black pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan oven 180°C, Gas Mark 6.
Unroll the sheets of filo pastry from 1 pack. Brush each sheet with melted butter and place them, stacked on top of one another, on a large baking sheet or roasting tin (big enough for the salmon). Lift the salmon on top.
Unroll the second pack of filo pastry, and brush each sheet with butter as before, arranging each one over the salmon, scrunching together at the sides to seal and fit.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 30 minutes, covering with a piece of foil after 15 minutes to prevent the pastry from becoming too brown. Turn off the oven, though leave the fish inside for 20 minutes, so that it cooks a little longer. Cool for at least 20 minutes, then slice and serve.
