The salmon en croute in the Christmas menu comes from Wayne
1. For the pastry: Sieve the flour into a bowl and rub in 60g of the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and add a few drops of lemon juice. Slowly add the water until the mixture forms a smooth dough. Allow to rest for 30 minutes in a cool place.
2. Cut a cross in the middle of the dough and pull each corner out to form a star. Roll out each corner a few centimetres, keeping the dough in the centre thick. Place the remaining butter in the centre of the pastry and fold the flaps over the top to form a parcel. Roll out the pastry into a rectangle, cover with a cloth and allow to rest in a cool place for 5-10 minutes.
3. Roll out the pastry into a bigger rectangle (approximately an additional 5 centimetres widthways and lengthways). Fold each end into the centre; then fold in half again to form a square. This is called a ‘double turn’. Allow to rest again for 20 minutes.
4. Turn the pastry a half turn then repeat as above. Repeat three more times, allowing resting for 20 minutes each time. Chill before use.
5. For the filling: Hold the pepper with kitchen tongs and roast over a gas flame for 10-15 minutes. The pepper should turn black. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and allow to cool.
6. Find the ‘woody end’ of the asparagus tips and snap off the ends and discard. Blanch the tips in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain and place in cold water to stop the cooking process.
7. Prepare the salmon – skin it, check for pin bones (a pair of tweezers is useful for this) and trim each side to an appropriate size. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Once the pepper has cooled, peel off the skin and chop into strips.
9. Preheat oven to 200°c. Roll out the pastry into a large rectangle and place one side of salmon lengthways in the centre. Place the strips of pepper and asparagus on top of the salmon, and place the other salmon on top.
10. Cut the pastry each side into strips from the centre, and fold the strips over the top of the salmon to form a lattice. Brush with the beaten egg, and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
11. For the puree: Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the spring onions and allow to sweat for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add the peas, stock and sugar, cover with a cartouche and simmer for 3-4 minutes (this prevents the steam from escaping).
12. Remove the cartouche and add the watercress. Cook for 5-6 minutes until wilted. Whizz in a blender for 2 minutes and serve chilled.
14. For the sweet potato chips: Peel the potatoes and slice into chips. Place on an oven tray and roast at 200°c for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stack layers of three chips on top of each other to form a tower.
15. Slice the salmon en croute and place one slice on each plate with the puree to form an exclamation mark. Serve with the sweet potatoes on the side.
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