Salmon Wellington

An inside peek at salmon wrapped in puff pastry.

These little packets of goodness are fancy enough for guests but also make for a perfect weeknight meal. Salmon Wellington comes together fast and includes a good hit of omega-3 fatty acids. Win-win-win!

Types of Salmon

My mother-in-law always seems to have good things to eat in her fridge. She regularly has fresh and freshly smoked salmon on hand. When family, friends, and neighbors go fishing off the coasts of Oregon and Alaska, they share their catch with her and I’m envious.

The salmon caught in the Pacific Northwest is typically one of the wild Pacific species. These include Chinook (also called king), chum (dog), coho (silver), pink (humpback), and sockeye (red).

Seriously, why do salmon species have two names?

One is a common species name (like Chinook) and one is a nickname (king). Either name may be used by fishermen, fishmongers, and regular people like you and me. Fishermen and fishmongers are regular people, too, but you know what I mean.

Atlantic farmed salmon with mushrooms, spinach, onion, and garlic.

What will you most likely find at your local grocery store? It depends on where you shop. At my local market, there are only two choices: Atlantic salmon (which is farmed) and sockeye (which is labeled wild caught).

As a general rule, Chinook is the most expensive while chum and pink are the cheapest (and often only available canned). The other varieties fall somewhere in between, price-wise. The good news: all are delicious and available fresh, frozen, or canned to accommodate every budget level.

Farm-raised Versus Wild-caught

I’m not talking about your son’s ex-girlfriend, silly. We are still on the subject of salmon.

We all want the answer to the question: which one is better, farm-raised or wild-caught? I’ve read the pros and cons of both and it seems you could go either way.

Farm-raised salmon:

Have higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids (which are good for you) than wild-caught because of the farm’s highly controlled diets.
Are given antibiotics, which can be passed along to you when you eat them.
Have higher levels of PCB, a type of pollutant, which has been linked to various medical problems.

Wild-caught salmon:

Have good levels of omega-3 fatty acids but it varies because the diet of the fish in the wild isn’t consistent.
Feed on smaller fish that may have eaten plastic waste in the ocean, which then gets passed along to you.
Have higher levels of mercury than farm-raised salmon, which is not good for you.

Given all the information, I’ve come to a conclusion. I don’t know which one is better. So, I eat what is available and within my budget.

I think salmon is especially good when wrapped in puff pastry a la Beef Wellington.

Wellington

We’ve talked about Beef Wellington before and I made a vegan version of it here. The Cliff Notes explanation: a savory filling that usually includes sauteed mushrooms is wrapped into a puff pastry log and baked until golden brown. It is cut into slices to reveal the inside and served.

Consider this the pescatarian version of this famous dish. This riff includes sauteed spinach, garlic, and mushrooms along with a salmon fillet for the filling. It is crispy on the outside, thanks to the puff pastry, and tender on the inside.

Puff pastry packets being brushed with egg wash.

Lessons Learned

I like to remove the skin from the salmon fillet before placing it inside the pastry but you don’t have to. You’re an adult, so do what you want.
The flavors of this dish are subtle and clean. If you want to zhush it up with other spices, have at it.
There is no dairy in this recipe, so your DF peeps will be happy about this.

Hat Tips

Many thanks to Diane Morrissey for her Salmon Wellington recipe.