Stuffed Salmon in Flaky Dough

Ingredients

• 1 small salmon (about 5 pounds with head on), yielding about 2½ pounds of boneless, skinless salmon flesh (see illustrated salmon preparation, page 85)

Flaky Butter Dough

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (about 10 ounces), placed in freezer for 2 hours to cool, plus ¼ cup cold flour for rolling the dough
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch slices and kept very cold in the refrigerator
• ½ to ⅔ cup ice-cold water (amount depending on moisture in flour)

Mushroom-Shrimp Stuffing

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ⅓ cup sliced shallots
• ½ pound wild or cultivated mushrooms (chanterelles, oyster, cremini, shiitake, or a mixture), sliced (about 3 cups)
• 4 ounces shrimp, peeled and cut into ½/-inch dice
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives

Foamy Lemon Sauce

• 1½ cups chicken stock (see White Stock, page 15)
• ½ teaspoon potato starch
• 3 egg yolks from large eggs
• ¼4 teaspoon salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

For Finishing

• 1 large egg

Method

1. For the flaky butter dough: Put the cold flour in a mixing bowl. Add the salt and butter, then pour in a little less than ½ cup of the cold water, and mix briefly with a wooden spoon. Dump the dough out onto a floured work surface, and, using a dough scraper, coarsely mix the ingredients together, adding a little more ice water (no more than ⅔ cup total) if needed to make the dough hold together. Try to work quickly to prevent the butter from softening.
2. Place the dough on a lightly floured cold surface, preferably marble or granite. Press lightly at first with your hands, then roll the dough to extend it into a rectangle about 16 inches long and 10 inches wide. Fold the length of the dough in on itself into thirds, like a letter. Then, with one of the folds facing you, roll the dough again into another rectangle, this one measuring about 18 inches long by 11 inches wide. By this time, the dough will be starting to get elastic and rubbery. Fold the long sides once again into thirds, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then repeat the two rolling and folding procedures described above, flouring the marble lightly as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. You will notice that when you are first rolling the dough the pieces of butter are quite visible, but by the fourth turn the pieces of butter will have practically disappeared from sight. Wrap the dough and refrigerate it until ready to finish the dish.
3. For the mushroom-shrimp stuffing: Heat the tablespoon of butter in a skillet. When it is hot but not smoking, add the shallots. Sauté for about 1 minute, until the shallots have softened, then add the mushrooms, and cook over medium to high heat until they have released their juice.
4. When that juice has evaporated and the mixture starts sizzling again, add the shrimp, and cook for about 1 minute, just long enough for the shrimp pieces to change color. Season with the pepper, salt, and chives. Cool.
5. When ready to assemble the dish, line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a 16-inch square. Cut a 16-inch-long strip from the dough measuring 5 to 6 inches wide, and place it on the diagonal on the parchment paper. Place one of the salmon fillets on top, and sprinkle it lightly with salt and pepper. Spread the cooled mushroom-shrimp stuffing evenly on top, then cover the stuffing with the remaining salmon fillet.
6. Take care to arrange the fillets so that the thinner part of the fillet on the bottom corresponds to the larger, thicker part of the fillet on top (tail to head and head to tail), and the shape and thickness are the same through-out. This way the salmon will cook evenly.
7. Roll the remaining, wider strip of dough up onto your rolling pin, then unroll it on top of the second fillet. Brush off any flour from the surface of the dough, and press it all around the edges, so it conforms to the fish shape underneath. The larger top layer of dough will stick around the edge to the layer of dough underneath. Press the two layers of dough gently around the edge so they adhere well together, then place in the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up the dough. This will make trimming and decorating the
8. “fish” easier. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
9. After 10 minutes, remove the “fish” from the freezer, and trim the excess dough all around the edge to create a fish outline with dorsal fins as well as a tail from the extra dough around the salmon. Make a gill with a strip of the trimmed dough, and cut and position a round piece of dough for the eye. Continue decorating as you fancy.
10. Break the whole egg into a small bowl, and remove about half the white. Beat the remaining egg in the bowl with a fork to make a wash for coating the “fish.” Brush the salmon with the egg. Holding the tip from a pastry bag (large end down) at an angle, press it lightly into the “fish” to simulate scales. Bake in the 375-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes.
11. Remove and set aside, uncovered, in a warm place while you make the sauce.
12. To make the sauce: Whisk together 1 cup of the chicken stock and the potato starch in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Whisk the egg yolks and the remaining chicken stock in a bowl, then pour into the hot stock, and whisk constantly over medium heat for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and foams, but don’t let it boil. It should reach a temperature of 180 degrees, the temperature needed to cook the eggs and the starch and to thicken the sauce.
13. Whisk in the salt and cayenne, then remove the saucepan from the heat, stir in the lemon juice, and set aside. The sauce should have doubled in volume.
14. To serve: Using two long hamburger spatulas, transfer the “fish” to a serving P ter. To serve, cut into 1-to-1½-inch slices, and arrange on warm individual plates. Spoon some sauce around the slices, and serve immediately.

Notes

This is a beautiful dish, ideal for an elegant party. Since it does take time to prepare, it is better to make enough for at least eight to ten people; if there are fewer people at your table, leftovers can be reheated or served cold with a salad. The pastry, the stuffing, and the boning of the fish (see illustrated salmon preparation, page 85) can be done a day ahead, and the whole dish can be assembled several hours before the party. Salmon fillets can be substituted here for the whole salmon; since about 2½ pounds of cleaned flesh are needed for this recipe, one large fillet can be cut into two pieces and arranged in the shape of a small salmon.

Flour tends to absorb the heat generated by your hands when you handle a dough, so it is best to use cold flour directly from the freezer for the flaky dough covering for the salmon. This dough is not quite a standard puff paste; it requires four turns instead of six and contains less butter than a regular puff dough. Rolled very thin, the dough holds its shape around the salmon better than a regular puff paste, yet it is flaky and won’t crumble when cut.