Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6. Whizz together the cream cheese with the spinach, watercress and rocket in a food processor.
150 g low fat cream cheese, 120 g spinach
Divide the puff pastry into 4 (or no. of portions) or keep as one piece if doing one large parcel. Roll it out to a thickness of 2 - 3 mm and just over twice the width of the salmon fillet so that it can be wrapped. You might find it helpful to measure the width to check you can comfortably wrap your salmon parcel.
500 g puff pastry
Place the skinned salmon fillet(s) on one half of the pastry, spread enough of the spinach mixture over the salmon to cover it, but not so much that it runs off. You can serve the rest of the sauce at the table. Paste the edges with some of the beaten egg and fold the pastry over. Gently pinch the edges together to seal it.
500 g salmon fillets
Glaze the top with the beaten egg and make a 2 small cuts on individual parcels in the pastry on top to let the steam escape. 4 cuts for a larger parcel.
1 eggs
Place on a greased baking tray or greased baking parchment and cook in the oven for 12 - 15 minutes for individual parcels and 25 - 30 minutes for a whole parcel. To test if it is cooked, place a sharp knife through one of the pastry cuts, hold it for 3 seconds then place it against the inside of your wrist. If the knife is hot, the salmon is cooked.
Notes
The nutritional information is for one portion from one big salmon parcel. Individual portions use more puff pastry so the calorie count will be slightly higher.
Ingredient Notes
Salmon - when buying salmon, it should be moist and free from any brown or grey blemishes. The smell should be fresh and not unpleasant.
Puff Pastry - I use the frozen puff pastry as it is so convenient. You can use frozen or fresh.
Cream Cheese - a simple soft cream cheese such as Philadelphia.
Spinach, watercress, rocket - I use a combination of these three leaves, but you can use just one.
Egg - a beaten egg is used to glaze the salmon en croute to give it a lovely golden colour once cooked.
Tips
Remember to skin your salmon before making up your parcels. Start at the tail end and with a sharp knife, cut the flesh away from the skin. Take hold of the tail end skin and then cut away from yourself to remove the rest of the skin.
Lightly run your fingers over the top of the salmon to check for any bones.
Lay your salmon side out on a board. If it is much wider at one end, cut some of the width and lay it next to the thinner side. You should have a rough rectangle shape so when you slice it, all the pieces are roughly the same.
If you are making individual salmon en croute, you will need twice as much pastry as is listed in the recipe card as there is more wrapping to do.
Storage
These puff pastry parcels can be prepared in advance and kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Don't brush with egg until you are ready to cook it. Make sure the edges are well sealed so the sauce doesn't run out. It doesn't freeze so well due to the cream cheese which becomes 'grainy' when frozen.