Salmon Pillows with Lemon Rice Pilaf

Servings: 4

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Cut the salmon into 4 equal pieces. Thin ends can be folded to make the piece smaller and thicker.

3. Thaw the puff pastry on a sheet of wax paper at room temperature. (About 5-10 minutes). Crimp seams together. Cut sheet into four rectangle pieces. Return to the refrigerator (or freezer if needed) to firm up again.

4. While the pastry is firming, make sure that your spinach is drained well. If it is, then place in a small bowl and season it to taste with salt and pepper.

5. When the pastry has firmed up again, place one rectangle on cutting board, lightly dusted with flour. Using a rolling pin, or straight sided cup, roll out the pastry to a larger rectangle. Do not roll out too thin or dough will be too fragile. Brush the top edge and bottom edge of the puff pastry pieces with the egg wash. Place equal amounts of the seasoned spinach in the center of each piece of pastry. Spread the spinach out in an even layer, leaving 1/2 inch border of pastry all the way around.

6. Season the salmon pieces generously on all sides with lemon pepper. Fit the salmon piece on top of the spinach, placing the salmon lengthwise on the pastry’s widest section. Roll the pastry around the salmon, making sure to seal the lengthwise seam. Use a fork to neatly crimp the ends shut. Using a fork, poke a W shape into the top of the pillow. This will allow steam to escape while baking.

7. Place finished pillows on a baking sheet, lined with foil or parchment paper. Brush outside of pillows with egg wash. Cook at 400F for 20 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

For Rice Pilaf

1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion, lemon zest, ginger and garlic and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Do NOT brown.

2. Add the rice, turmeric, and broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook on low for 20 minutes.

3. Fluff the rice with a fork and sprinkle with parsley. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Salmon fillet rinsed, dried, skinned and cut into four portions

• 1 10 oz. package spinach, frozen thawed & excess liquid squeezed out

• 1 puff pastry, frozen sheet thawed in the refrigerator

• lemon pepper (as needed)

• salt and pepper

• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp. water

• flour as needed to keep pastry from sticking

Lemon Rice Pilaf

• ½ tbsp. olive oil

• 1 large onion diced

• 1 tbsp. lemon zest

• ½ tbsp.. ginger root, fresh grated

• 2 small garlic clove minced

• 1 ½ c. Jasmine Rice

• 1/8 tsp. turmeric

• 3 c. chicken broth

• 2 tbsp. flat leaf parsley chopped