Salmon Parcel With Beetroot, Apple And Celery Slaw - Christmas Lunch 2011 Part 3

After a Thai classic (ma haw) and a contemporary Australian (tian of prawns with tomato, fennel and cucumber with shellfish sauce) I wanted to create a main using my very own ideas. Since we were not doing presents I decided a little salmon parcel with a festive looking slaw might be a good idea.

I am extremely happy with the result considering I wasn't able to get the right cut of salmon for the dish. The refreshing salad/slaw turned out to be the perfect partner for the rich salmon parcels, more importantly there were four empty plates and satisfying smiles on everyone's face in the end.

P.S you can do most of the preps beforehand leaving you plenty of time to socialize with your guests. 

recipe from the Tummies' kitchen
oven preheated at 220 C (conventional)
serves 4 as a one dish meal
you'll need;
4 pieces of salmon fillets, skinned
4 ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

for the herb sauce;
1/2 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbs of coriander powder
1 tbs of cumin powder
1 tbs of sweet paprika
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup of red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

for the slaw;
1 medium size beetroot, peeled and cut into matchstick size pieces
2 granny smith apples, cored and cut into matchstick size pieces*
4 celery ribs, cut into matchstick size pieces
half a bunch of chives, cut into lengths to match the rest of the vegetables
a handful of walnuts
a simple red wine vinegar dressing
*soak apple in acidulated water to prevent discolouring

Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend till you get a course paste.

Spread some of the herb sauce over the salmon fillet. 

Cut the thin tail end and place it on top, this will ensure even cooking. If you are using fillets from the middle section, ignore this step.

Wrap salmon in a piece of thawed puff pastry to form a parcel, cut off the excess pastry.

Brush parcels with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven until the parcel puffed up and golden (~25 minutes)

Place all slaw ingredients except for the walnuts in a large bowl and dress the salad just before assembling.

Serve salmon parcel with a small mount of slaw on the side, top with walnuts and drizzle some of the remaining herb sauce over.