Salmon Pastry Puffs

When I saw her in November, my sister gave me a recipe book she'd put together for me, complete with subject index, pictures, and the necessary level of dumbed-down Dena directions. Still, I had to phone her yesterday for help.

"Guess what?" I said when she picked up the phone. "I'm going to make your salmon pastry puffs recipe tonight."

"You'll love it," she replied. "Best quick dinner ever."

"Riiiight," I said. "Hey, one question. Um, what's a puff pastry?"

After she walked me through where to find them ("Go to frozen foods near the pie crusts," were my marching orders) and stopped laughing at me (rude), she again emphasized what a delicious meal this was and that I could even use it for entertaining.

Maybe. I haven't had a lot of luck with salmon recipes so I didn't get my hopes up.

Oh. My. God. People--this is a life-changing recipe. SO GOOD. I ate myself sick last night but didn't want to waste an ounce of food. Delish, delish, delish. Definently a new favorite in the Harris household.

So Nicole, I hope you don't mind my sharing the recipe but it's too good--and too simple--to keep secret. Here it is, complete with my sister's italics which are code for "Dena, don't mess this up."

SALMON WITH PUFF PASTRY & PESTO

  • 4 pieces of purchased puff pastry, each cut to be just larger than a piece of salmon
  • 4 (4-6 oz.) pieces salmon
  • 1/4 cup sliced almonds
  • 1/4 cup purchased pesto
  • 2 tomatoes, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

On a foil-lined baking sheet, place the 4 pieces of puff pastry. Also place the 4 pieces of salmon, being careful to make sure they are not touching (don't cook them on top of the puff pastry.) Sprinkle each piece of salmon with 1 tablespoon of the sliced almonds. Bake for 10 minutes.

To serve, place each piece of puff pastry on a plate. Top each pastry with 1 tablespoon of pesto. Top the pesto with 2 slices of tomato each. Top the tomatoes with the salmon and serve.

Serves 4  / Prep Time: 5 minutes  /Cooking Time: 10 minutes